Twelve Handicapped* Spots at the Medical Clinic Parking Lot

Disclaimer, *I’m aware for many people this is not the preferred term, but it’s the one I’m feeling today.

Did you know there are 12 handicapped parking spots outside of the River Campus Medical Building? It’s a reasonably small parking lot. As an able-bodied person, I used to look at the number of wheelchair parking spots as excessive.

But. It’s. been. A. week.

In the past 7 days, my 81-year-old mother has fallen 4 times – two with mild results (bruising) and two with moderate results (sutures, head knock, short term behavior changes). She’s been wobbly for several years, but after this week, her DFR (daily fall rate, my term) is up from one fall every 6 weeks (0.02 falls/day) to four falls in seven days (0.57 falls/day).

We’ve been frequent fliers in our local ER and my accumulated medical drop off experiences have increased significantly. Let me walk you through the steps for dropping off a person with physical limitations and mild cognitive/memory impairment at the entrance of a medical clinic.

Step 1. Open the car door, hold onto her purse so that she has both hands free. The dialogue is on repeat EACH time we get into the car:

“Mom, give me your purse. I’ll hand it to you once you’re in.”

Step 2: Cue her to sit on the seat, swing her legs in, and get her body squared for a comfortable ride.

Step 3: Check to see if she has grabbed the seatbelt or if I need to assist (varies from day to day)

Step 4: Fold the walker or wheelchair and wedge it into the back of my Mazda CX5.

Sidebar: how is it that the NEWER, SMALLER walker is HARDER to fit into the vehicle than the OLDER, WIDER version?

Step 5: Get back into the driver’s seat, change radio to something we both enjoy, and drive to location.

Step 6: At the medical clinic, pull up to the circular drop off area.

Step 7: Put the car in park.

Tips:

• Pay attention to whether she is starting to get out without assistance (NOT a good idea).

• Wobbly body, variable blood sugar, intermittent lightheadedness, and impaired judgment increase falls (see DFR stats above).

Step 8: Get out of the car and wrestle the walker/wheelchair out of the back.

Step 9: Push walker/wheelchair to passenger side of the vehicle

Adjust rate of movement according to: 1) how many people are waiting to drop off their person, 2) how much she has attempted to get out on her own

Step 10: Once the device is positioned, make sure to lock the walker or wheelchair.

Side bar: By this point in the process, you are often running late because each previous step took longer than you anticipated. AND if you have other responsibilities in your life or get into deep moments of flow (like me), perhaps you were working from a tight timeline to start. Diffuse time pressure, self-critical emotions, and concerns about other people’s wait time by feeling the weight of your feet on the ground. Notice what is. Don’t get seduced into criticizing yourself or her about being later than hoped.

Step 11: Take her purse (90% of the time she is once again trying to hold it while getting out even though she needs both hands for stability)*

*adds additional clouds to the “falling potential” storm

Step 12: Assist her in getting feet on the ground, taking a few steps forward, grabbing wheelchair or walker handle for support while turning around.

Note: Her spatial sensation is affected by neuropathy in her feet. Sometimes it takes a minute for the prickle of waking-up-from-sleep sensations to ease.

Step 13: Walk her into the medical building entrance and position her in a waiting space near the door.

• Make sure she is wearing any required mask

• If borrowing a wheelchair from the facility, take time to choose the appropriate size, make sure the brakes work, foot rests are intact, and wheels roll smoothly (2/3 of these criteria is a pretty successful find).

• Pray that she doesn’t choose independence over physical capacity and try to check herself in (i.e. standing up from wheelchair or walking forward without a spotter).

Step 14: Park the car in one of the 12 handicapped parking spots.

Sidebar: At some locations there is an option for valet parking which is a Godsend! (usually free if you have a wheelchair parking permit). Make sure to have cash for tipping as these places rarely have electronic payment options. I recently gave a $20 tip to the valets rather than stiff them.

Step 15: Hang the permit from the rearview mirror to avoid getting a fine or nasty note

• (this has happened to me when I forgot to hang the permit).

Step 16: Grab any needed supplies, anticipating what you might need if there is a spill or toileting issue.

Weirdly, I often have paper towels, cleaner, extra clothes, and extra Depends in my vehicle, because…well, history.

Step 17: Catch up with your person inside and get a place in the registration line.

Helpful tips:

• Allow the person as much independence as possible in the check in process (e.g. name, DOB, etc.) BUT also maintain accuracy of info. One phrase I’m using…”Mom, do you mind if I add some details?”

• Especially in the ER, multiple providers will ask, “what brings you in today?” I HATE the repetition of this question (charts?) because my mother often has multiple, contradictory responses. Be prepared to add information if medical history details start to drift.

Step 18: BE GRATEFUL for those 12 handicapped parking spots outside of the medical clinic.

- Janet Tilstra