Woman with Multiple Sclerosis asked 'Did you forget your wheelchair?' after parking in disabled bay

A woman with Multiple Sclerosis has publicly shared an angry note she received after parking in a disabled bay.

Justine Van Den Borne shared the image on her Facebook page after the note was left on her car as she went shopping: It said she shopped at the Mitcham Shopping Centre in Melbourne, Australia. Attached to the windscreen of her car, the note said: “Did you forget your wheelchair???”.

Ms Van Den Borne, from Melbourne, wrote a lengthy caption alongside the image explaining she has MS. The post has so far amassed over 17,500 likes and been shared thousands of times.

She wrote: “I am sick of people like yourself abusing me on my good days for using a facility I am entitled to. A disability doesn’t always mean a person has to be wheelchair bound but lucky for you one day I will be.”

Finishing the note she said: “Before you ruin another person’s day remember you don’t know everything and just because you can’t see it, it doesn’t mean a person isn’t struggling to put one foot in front of the other.”

Ms Van Den Borne told The Age similar situations happen “all the time”.

She said: “Because of my age, they look at me, and automatically presume I’m doing the wrong thing. But actually I can’t carry my own shopping, can’t walk long distance, I have the bladder of an 80-year-old.”

The 41-year-old was diagnosed with MS when she was 35, she often uses a stick to walk and believes she will be using a wheelchair within the next few years.

MS affects the brain and spinal cord, according to the NHS symptoms include loss of vision, muscle stiffness, difficulties with balance and fatigue.

Secondary progressive MS — which Ms Van Den Borne has — is when symptoms gradually worsen over time.

There is currently no cure for Multiple Sclerosis.

Liz Sayce, CEO of Disability Rights UK told The Independent: “We are living in a culture of suspicion towards people whose disability is not immediately obvious. Imagine having heart disease or MS, being able to walk only a short distance, and being treated as a potential fraudster when you dare to park in a disabled parking bay.”

“Of the UK’s 11 million disabled people, only about 1.2 million use wheelchairs — but many others need to park close to shops, to receive disability benefits, to be free of discrimination. Let’s end the prejudice.”