Woman With Parkinson’s Disease Says Car Was Damaged While In Handicap Spot

Bristol Township resident Stacie Barlow was 36 years old when she was diagnosed with young-onset Parkinson’s disease.

The diagnosis came after a sudden onset of symptoms that caused her problems.

Now at 43, she continues to suffer from muscle aches that hit out of nowhere, an unexpected loss of balance, and a body that can take control away from her in the blink of an eye.

“I went from being able to do everything to now everything is limited,” she said.

“Even doing my youngest daughter’s hair is hard.”

Barlow explained how she can be fine when she enters a store and have trouble moving by the time she leaves due to young-onset Parkinson’s.

While she’s able to drive, Barlow said she uses a PennDOT persons with disability parking placard on her car and she parks in spaces reserved for people with them.

On Thursday evening, Barlow and her 16-year-old daughter made a quick trip to the Walmart in Tullytown.

When she came outside to her disability parking spot, she spotted a note on her car and scratches in the paint. It read: “You are not disabled – PIG.”

A photo of the note and a narrative of what happened ended up being posted to social media and spread like wildfire. It gained more than 1,000 reactions and 3,000 shares by Saturday morning.

“I honestly feel violated,” Barlow recalled in a phone interview with LevittownNow.com. “As soon as I read the note, I started thinking: is this person watching me?”

Feeling nervous that someone was watching her and her daughter and may have even been following them into the store, Barlow told her daughter to get in the car and she rushed home, she said.

Barlow said she contacted Walmart once at home and they directed her to police.

Tullytown police Chief Daniel Doyle confirmed his officers did take a report and are working with Walmart to view surveillance video to continue their investigation.

Barlow’s car has not yet been to the shop and there is no estimate to repair the vandalism.

Barlow said she’s less upset about the vandalism to her car and more upset that some decided to go through the effort to watch her and write the hurtful note.

On Facebook, the reaction seems mainly supportive for Barlow and she said she has since heard stories from other people with placards who have shared their own stories.

For Barlow, this is the first time she’s had a negative response to using the placard, she said.

“It’s just wrong. I don’t know what is wrong with people,” Barlow said. “I feel like I should not park in handicap spots again, and there’s no reason I should feel that way.”