AFTER spending four hours filling out a detailed £10 form on her council’s website and attending an assessment day, Naomi Griffiths was approved for a disabled badge.
But the decision has been slammed: Naomi is often accused of “stealing all the disabled spaces” and being “lazy” as people don’t deem her chronic illness as badge-worthy.
The 24-year-old suffers with endometriosis - a disease which has caused her continuous mobility issues and lack of control when she needs to use the toilet.
"Due to my bowel being obstructed, as it was fused to my uterus, one of my main symptoms of endometriosis is the way it affects me going to the toilet,” she explains.
Naomi compares her endometriosis pain to being “poked with barbed wire” in the stomach and “stabbed” in the lower abdomen.
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The assistant hotel manager was approved for a blue badge in October last year but has been bombarded with questions and assumptions about her eligibility.
Blue badges are designed to help people with disabilities or health conditions park closer to their destination.
But Naomi has been told there will be “no disabled spaces left” for disabled people if everyone with her condition applies for one.
The criticism has come after she shared her story on social media.
Some users bemoaned that because she might not need it every day as her condition is 'intermittent', it would mean she could use it some days just to be “lazy”.
Endometriosis is a disease in which tissue similar to the lining of the uterus grows outside the uterus, which can cause severe pain in the pelvis and make it harder to get pregnant.
"I applied for a blue disabled badge because 60% of the time my mobility is limited,” Naomi, from Wolverhampton, says.
"Walking across a car park can seem fine for some people but when I also have to walk around the shop, if I can just spare myself a little bit of pain and park closer to the shop, it just helps.
"Sometimes I have to use a wheelchair in the shops as I can't physically get myself around due to the pain.”
"These symptoms won't really go away as this area has already been affected. Sometimes I don't go to the toilet for days, but sometimes I can't control my bowels at all.
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The best way to describe the pain is like someone has stabbed you in the lower abdomen and they keep the knife in you
Naomi Griffiths
"So if I can park as close as possible to the toilet or use a disabled toilet, this will obviously help.
"The pain is pretty much constant and it worsens on my period.
"The best way to describe the pain is like someone has stabbed you in the lower abdomen and they keep the knife in you or like you have barbed wire in your stomach and someone is poking you.”
Since sharing her story on TikTok, Naomi has been repeatedly accused of “stealing” disabled spaces from others.
"The council could have rejected my application and say that I didn't qualify and that would have been fine,” she says. “I don't make the decisions they do.
"On my worst days, I can't stop my life because of endometriosis.
"At the end of the day disabled car park spaces are on a first come first serve basis and the problem isn't me.
"There needs to be more parking spaces but I can't do anything about this.
"People shouldn't be so quick to judge. You don't know how my day was and I think people need to do their research before they label endometriosis as just a 'painful period'.
"I wish it only happened during my period and I didn't have to deal with it every day.
“I wouldn't wish endometriosis on my worst enemy."
Naomi began experiencing painful periods and heavy blood loss aged 13 but wasn't diagnosed with endometriosis until March 2021 - eight years later.
Since her diagnosis she has undergone surgery to have her uterus and bowel separated and her tubes untied after access tissue 'fused' these two organs together.
Naomi’s blue badge arrived last week but she is yet to use it.
"I don't feel like I need to justify myself to anyone,” she says. “For me I only intend to use my blue badge on my worst days.
"I wouldn't have applied for the blue badge if I didn't think I needed it.
"It took a long time to fill out and I'm not going to waste my time on something just for fun. I wish I could live life without it. It wasn't a fun choice to make."
Naomi is now encouraging other women with endometriosis to apply for a blue badge if they feel it would help relieve their symptoms.
"To women who have endometriosis, everyone's case is different and I've spoken to girls with it that feel like they would benefit from a blue badge and spoken to other girls that have used one,” she urged.
"It depends on your symptoms. Some people can carry on and have a normal life with their symptoms as it's not affecting their organs and nerves.”
I wouldn't wish endometriosis on my worst enemy
Naomi Griffiths
After sharing a post about her blue badge application on TikTok, Naomi’s video totted up 11,000 likes and nearly 800 comments.
Whilst other endometriosis sufferers questioned how they could apply for a blue badge, some said they had applied and been rejected.
But others were quick to criticise Naomi and claimed she was “taking other people's disabled spaces”.
One user said: "Having a disability doesn't mean you qualify for a blue badge. It's a variable illness and you don't always need that space.
"These women getting blue badges for something that affects them 10% of the time is not necessary.
"Intermittent conditions shouldn't sustain a need for a permanent solution such as a blue badge. My disease is constant, not just when I'm on my period.
"But miss girl over here could take a space even when she feels fine, just because she has it and is feeling lazy one day."
Another added: "My one comment is please be mindful if you use a disabled space please consider if you are able to park in a 'normal’ space and leave this wide space."
A third commented: "Sorry, it's a condition not a disability. What about Endometriosis makes you physically disabled?"
A fourth said: "There won't be any disabled spaces left by the time all these blue badges are handed out."
Trolls said that “people are just being lazy at this point” and classifying anything “as a disability”.
According to the Gov UK website, people who meet a certain criteria, such as being registered blind, automatically receive a blue badge.
For others, they may be able to qualify for one if, for example, they find it difficult to walk due to pain, breathlessness or the time it takes.
The eligibility is up to your local council to decide.
According to the Endometriosis UK website, endometriosis should not automatically be seen as a disability and decisions will be made on individual circumstances as to whether a person meets the criteria of a disability.
