A university student claims she was publicly shamed after her jeep was covered in degrading posts when she parked in a designated handicapped space.
Now she wants others to realize that not all illnesses are visible.
Lexi Baskin, a University of Kentucky student is receiving radiation treatment for a tumor that was found in her brainstem, CBS reported.
The student said she had parked outside the university’s medical library in one of the five handicapped spots, adding that she has both a valid state and campus disability parking placards, NBC affiliate LEX18 reported.
Baskin told the network she was meeting with a professor in the building and came out with a friend to discover the notes plastered over her car. One note featured a handicapped symbol calling her “just lazy” and other notes said they saw her exit the building and that “there is nothing handicapped about either of you. Your tag must be borrowed or fake.”
The note even said they would try their best to get Baskin fined or towed for being “such a selfish, terrible person.”
She took to social media to share the photos of her jeep, where they quickly went viral.
“Just a gentle reminder that you have no idea what is going on in other people’s lives,” Baskin wrote on the “Love What Matters” Facebook page. “This is my car and I am legally allowed to park in handicap spaces due to cancer treatment and exhaustion. Just because you can’t physically observe something does not mean that a person is not feeling it.”
“I had a grade 2 ependymoma on my brain stem. It was removed July 28th and I started radiation 5 weeks ago today,” Baskin continued in a Nov. 6 Facebook post.
She said that just because she looks fine walking the two minutes from her car to the building, it does not mean she is not struggling.
“I am not asking for sympathy, but just awareness that everyone is fighting their own battles whether you know it or not” she wrote.
Baskin closed her Facebook post saying she would pray for the person who covered her car in notes and hopes “that the darkness in their heart is replaced with unconditional love and happiness.”
Reminder that you have no idea what's going on in people's lives. I have cancer and radiation treatment. I'm legally allowed to park here pic.twitter.com/00pGG2MNZt
Her first initial post about the incident was posted on her Twitter account, Oct. 26 and has since gone viral. As of writing it has garnered over 108,000 favorites and over 48,000 retweets.
The university has issued a response to the incident and said they have referred it to campus police to follow up.
“”The University of Kentucky and Transportation Services deeply regret that a student was subjected to this as there are many reasons an individual may have an ADA accessible permit that may not be readily observable,” Jay Blanton, of University of Kentucky Public Relations and Marketing, said, LEX18 reported.
“It’s important to be clear: this unfortunate action was that of a rogue individual unaffiliated with Transportation Services or our police department,” Blanton added.
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