The priority seating on public transport is meant to help those who need it, but one young woman found herself defending her right to use it. When an elderly passenger demanded her seat, the quiet morning commute turned tense. “I need this seat too,” the young woman explained calmly, but the older passenger wouldn’t relent.
The situation reached its breaking point when the young woman revealed her prosthetic leg, leaving the challenger speechless. “I’ve faced this before,” the amputee later shared. “People see a young face and assume I’m fine, not realizing what’s beneath my clothes.”
Her story opened floodgates of similar experiences. A woman with multiple sclerosis wrote, “I’ve been yelled at for using disabled parking until I show my placard and struggle to walk.” A man with an artificial heart valve shared, “No one sees my disability until I nearly pass out from exhaustion.” These accounts highlight an important truth: disability doesn’t always look how we expect, and compassion shouldn’t either.
