Gry Hege (51) is missing arms and legs – disabled parking was refused – VG

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When the engineer and the speaker found out the parking permit for people with reduced mobility His (HC card) had expired, he hoped it would be easy to get a new one approved.

Especially since four years ago she went through a series of rejections, complaints and was eventually granted an HC card from the Bymiljøetaten in the Oslo municipality.

This time it was greeted with the following response from the municipality:

“If it is difficult in a pharmacy, a shop or a particular shopping center, you can choose another one where the parking situation is better. In principle, it is possible to add the shopping round even to a time of day when there is less traffic, and therefore also easier to park close to the destination, “says the refusal, who saw VG.

According to Henriksen, the wording is the same as it received in the municipality’s first rejection four years ago. He also shows a copy of the complaint that VG saw.

The answer made the teenage mother blush.

And you Facebook post which went viral, Henriksen takes a strong stance:

– Discriminative

– SERIOUSLY – it is not discriminatory that I, who have rigid leg prostheses, cannot shop, go to a bar with friends or do other things that both you who are reading that the employees of the urban environment agency give for granted, where and when I want? Should I stop work or shop late at night, maybe drive somewhere far away? Henriksen asks in the post.

The Facebook post was shared 4,900 times Monday night and has 642 comments.

– I get irritated. Not being able to park where I want is a hassle. But this matter is bigger than me, Henriksen points out in a telephone interview with VG.

– There are so many people texting me that they have a lot worse than me. If the Oslo municipality continues to send its discriminatory letters, it will not be used to obtain an HC card.

VG has been in contact with the Bymiljøetaten in the municipality of Oslo, who points out that he cannot comment on individual cases, but that an overall assessment is carried out to determine whether the applicant has a particular need for parking facilities and whether a parking will solve the problem in the places declared by the applicant, such as places where he needs a parking permit.

See the full answer at the bottom of the case.

He had to amputate several times

Six years ago, Henriksen was a fast, healthy mother with an engineering job in the oil industry. She struggled a little with pneumonia, but mostly she coughed. Until Christmas 2016.

– I was supposed to have my parents on my ribs on a Sunday, I woke up and was in a bad mood. I thought I had the flu and got worse and worse. When my parents left home, I went to bed, says Henriksen.

The roommate comments that her lips are blue and she is sick. She chooses to call an ambulance. The last thing Henriksen remembers is that she walked out the front door supported by the ambulance crew. Then everything goes black.

– Four weeks later I woke up in Ullevål hospital.

The message is brutal: Henriksen had pneumonia that went into his blood. The combination of blood poisoning and strep infection means doctors have to amputate arms and legs.

– At first I thought it was a joke. Bad mood, Henriksen recalls.

– The hands had to be amputated once, but the legs had to be amputated several times because the wounds did not heal.

It needs room to turn

After rehabilitation and training at Sunnaas hospital, she returned to everyday life. Today Henriksen still works as an engineer in the oil industry, but she also teaches motivational classes and painting courses through her own company. Both as an engineer and an entrepreneur, she travels a lot for clients.

– I cannot get in and out of the car without fully opening the car door. I can’t sneak out! I have no movement in my ankle and must be able to get out of the car and lower my legs, explains Henriksen.

– Several times I stopped in the parking lot of a shopping center and waited for the person who owns the car next to me to come and go to get into my car.

He believes that the rejection of the Urban Environment Agency in the Oslo municipality this time is probably due to the fact that he has not attached a statement from his employer, only a medical report and an explanation that he needs parking for disabled in order to carry out his work as a trader.

Critical for documentation requirements

The 51-year-old also responds to requests to document appointments with doctors and submit receipts recently.

– Last time I gave it to you, but this time I refuse to attach such receipts. I too reacted last. Where I travel is private.

– It is also rude that they ask me to postpone the shopping trip to another time of the day. Let’s say I go to a parent-teacher conference at my child’s school. If there is no free end where I can open the door enough, I cannot go out.

– What reactions did you get?

– Many people thank me for starting to fight. Many are completely shocked and write that they cannot face the battle alone, they do not have the energy. I have received messages from dozens of people with similar stories.

VG saw a message the 51-year-old received from an Oslo doctor who writes that “too often” he experiences that patients have to confirm and document diagnoses that will last a lifetime.

Municipality of Oslo: – An overall assessment

Susanne Lyng, Head of the Legal Department of the Urban Environment Agency, replies to VG by email via the Oslo City Council Communications Department. Here is her answer to VG’s question:

– How can the Oslo municipality rate a woman who is missing both arms and legs and who is dependent on no less than four prostheses as not sufficiently disabled to obtain an HC parking card?

– We cannot comment on individual cases. In general, we can inform you that according to the legislation on parking permits for people with reduced mobility, applicants must meet two conditions to obtain a parking permit; reduced walking ability and particular need for parking facilities, Lyng writes in his response to VG.

– First, the applicant’s doctor assesses whether the applicant has a reduced ability to walk. To satisfy the condition of impaired walking ability, the starting point is that you cannot walk, or you have great difficulty walking only a few meters. An overall assessment is then made to determine whether the applicant has a particular need for parking and whether a parking permit will solve the problem in the places the applicant has indicated as the places where he or she needs a parking permit.

– The reason given is that Henriksen can park somewhere else if he doesn’t get close enough, but his problem is that he depends on a lot of space when he has to get in and out of the car, which he often doesn’t want in regular parking lots. What does it take for the Oslo municipality to think you are quite disabled?

– The guidelines for issuing HC cards are a national regulation, not an assessment by the municipality. Candidates who believe Council made the wrong decision can appeal the case and will receive an independent court review of their case, Lyng replies.

– Facebook post went viral. What will Oslo City Council say and do to restore Henriksen’s and other disabled people’s confidence in the Council’s ability to assess?

– We have an appeals board which ensures that we are predictable and do not make decisions on the wrong basis. We hope that the appellant will make use of the complaints procedure if she deems the assessments that have been made to be incorrect.

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