To: Devon County Council

BLUE BADGES FOR PEOPLE WITH CFS/ME

I want Devon County Council to add M.E. (Myalgic Encephalitis) and C.F.S. (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome) to their list of recognised health conditions, so that people with these variable conditions automatically get a Blue Badge.

Why is this important?

This is so important to people like myself trying to lead as normal a life as possible while living with this variable (sometimes even within each day) long term disabling health condition. Just because one day, maybe the day of the assessment for how far a person can walk, done by the Council, one is able to walk a reasonable distance. CFS/ME is a variable condition and if we walk the "approved " say 200 yards, it is the very act of doing that which then makes us suffer and become exhausted! There is a severe lack of knowledge and recognition of this illness and I want to change this and help myself and people like me to petition Devon County Council for us to be recognised as needing Blue Badges so that we can continue to be as independent as possible. We want to do our own shopping, etc., and it is the constant anxiety of worrying how close to our destination we can park, which makes so many of us lose our independence. We do not choose to be ill. PLEASE PLEASE HELP!

Devon

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