‘Being Fat And Ugly Doesn’t Count As Being Disabled…Park Elsewhere’: Mom Shocked After Returning To Car To Find Note On Windshield

After parking in a disabled parking spot in Tesco, 35-year-old mother of one, Sarah Metcalfe, returned to her vehicle to find a note left by a stranger that read: “Being fat and ugly doesn’t count as a disability – park elsewhere.”

According to Mirror, Sarah, a PhD student at the University of York, suffered a fall five years ago that caused a head injury. As a result, she developed fibromyalgia, as well as chronic fatigue syndrome.

Mother finds cruel note branding her ‘fat and ugly’ after parking in disabled bay at Tesco: Sarah Metcalfe, wh… http://t.co/inbMLk8AUv

— World_News_N1 (@World_News_N1) May 6, 2015

The disorder, fibromyalgia, causes muscle pain throughout Sarah’s entire body, which is why she opted to park in a disabled parking space. She wanted to have a shorter walk with her 13-year-old son Jack to the supermarket.

A short time later, the two returned to the vehicle where Jack found the horrifying note that read: “Being fat and ugly doesn’t count as a disability – park elsewhere.” Jack was so upset by the note that he began to cry, and tried to convince his mother that she was not fat and ugly.

terrible what has happened to Sarah Metcalfe. Someone out there is horrible and nasty enough to leave this note. https://t.co/W6FlBSpkf3

— Billy Holden (@rezidentspike) May 6, 2015

“Both me and Jack were devastated to find the note. I think they must have seen me leaving my car with a smile on my face so assumed I wasn’t disabled or in pain,” Sara said.

“Yet I was just happy to be out with my son – but we were both left absolutely heartbroken to find the note, it left us both in tears. Then our hurt turned to anger.

“Now that I’ve calmed down I would still like to speak to the cowardly person behind the note to explain how not all disabilities are visible.”

Although Sarah applied for the Blue Badge, she is still in the process of getting it approved.

“I don’t like to claim benefits, I like to just try and get on with it, but the pain was so bad on this occasion that I was forced to use a disabled bay to limit the walk,” she said.

“There were around 40 disabled parking bays and most were free.”

“I wouldn’t have been able to go in if I hadn’t used it – my ankles had become so weak that I was worried I’d go over on them. But I was enjoying a day out with my son so was determined to make it in.”

Sara would like to meet the person responsible for writing the note and leaving it on her windshield for her to find. She wants to educate them by saying that not all disabilities are visible.

“Just because I’m not in a wheelchair doesn’t mean I’m not disabled,” she said.

“I think the person who did this should come forward. I just want to talk to them about what it’s like to live with a disability like this.”

“I think they should have thought about the impact that writing this could have had on the wrong person.”

“I consider myself quite a strong person, but this could have gone on someone’s car who couldn’t handle such nasty personal abuse.”

“Whoever did it, didn’t think about the terrible effect it could have had on someone.”

[Image courtesy of John/Flickr]