TEEN WHO SUFFERED LOSS OF LEG IN ACCIDENT CALLED LAZY AND TOLD TO MOVE FROM TRAIN SEAT

Fox News

 

Teen who suffered loss of leg in accident is called 'lazy child' on train, ordered to 'get up' from seat

Some 15,000 reactions and 2,000 comments have come in to date on an unfortunate travel situation

By Maureen Mackey Fox News

Published September 9, 2023 8:13pm EDT

 

A teenager shared an unfortunate personal story on Reddit — and in a very short time has elicited some 15,000 reactions and 2,000 comments from others on social media who responded to the post.

 

"A few years ago," wrote the young woman, identifying herself as a 16-year-old, "I lost my left leg in an accident."

 

She's "been using a prosthetic leg since then," she said, "and because my family is well [off], it is a pretty advanced one to the point where it just looks like I just have two normal legs whenever I wear long trousers."

 

 

She added, "Which I usually do because I'm really self-conscious about showing my prosthetic."

 

She continued to share her story with others on the subreddit known as AITA ("Am I the a--hole?"). "These days," she wrote, "I can pretty much do anything I like without issues — walking, running, going upstairs, etc."

 

The teen also said that her "main issue is keeping my balance when there are sudden changes in movement, in places like trains and buses. Which is where the topic of this post comes in," added the Reddit writer, who goes by the username "Swimming-Contact6122."

 

"I was riding the train and sat down in the seat reserved for disabled, elderly and pregnant women," she said (she did not share her location).

 

"It was pretty busy," she added, "so there were no other seats available."

Later, after a few stops, she said "a woman came up to me telling me I needed to move, because she needs that seat and I shouldn't be sitting there."

 

The teenager said she responded that she "was sorry — but I needed the seat myself."

 

The woman, the teen continued, "got all argumentive that I just need to get up, because the seat is meant for the elderly and I'm just a lazy child who is more than capable of standing."

 

So the teen again "apologized," but said that she "really needed the seat myself."

 

The teen said the woman then "left and got the train conductor, who also told me to get up from the seat."

 

The teenager then shared what she did next.

 

"I was really done with being treated this way now, so I rolled up my trouser leg, showed my prosthetic — and told her I wasn't going to move," she said.

 

At that point, added the teenager in her Reddit post, the woman who had been bothering her "suddenly got very red-faced and mumbled something before she got off at the next station."

 

The teen asked others on the social media platform if she was wrong for the way she handled the awkward and difficult situation.

 

She added, "I could have said, ‘I have a prosthetic,' right away, but it's a really touchy subject for me and it makes me feel very self-conscious."

 

She also shared, "That's why I always wear long trousers so nobody can see or has to know."

 

Fox News Digital reached out to a psychologist for insight.

 

Said Dr. Jayme Albin, PhD, a clinical psychologist in New York, "Being sensitive to someone’s story and potential disability is always important, so I don’t think it was quite right for the passenger to assume that the young woman didn’t belong in the seat and try to assert her authority."

 

Added Albin, "However, I will say this. If a person is going to ask for, or use, areas specially designated for people with disabilities, then he or she should be prepared to share that they're part of the group and that they need special assistance."

 

Dr. Albin also said, "It doesn’t mean they need to make themselves vulnerable or let anyone know their story — but they do need to let them know the situation."

 

Wrote one responder on the subreddit, earning 16,000 "upvotes" alone for this comment, "We're all built differently. I'd have just pulled up my pant leg and been like, ‘You f---ing serious?’ But you did it differently and more politely than [most] would have done."

 

Added the commenter, "You cannot possibly be an a--hole for handling it more graciously than most would."

 

Wrote another person in reply to the original post, "Seriously … what’s up with people thinking that young people can’t possibly be disabled or in pain?"

 

This same person went on, "I had a friend of a friend in college who had to get surgery, as she’s deaf in one ear. One of her professors wouldn’t accommodate her. She showed up to class with her hair messy and the part that was shaved for surgery, with fresh stitches on her head and all."

 

The same writer added, "You could legit be dying and old people think you can walk it off, [or] you’re exaggerating, you’re lying [or] it can’t possibly be that bad."

 

Continued this same commenter, "Imagine if we treated the elderly that way. It wouldn’t be fair, right?"

 

Wrote another person in response to the teen's story, "No one is obligated or entitled to know your disability. You shouldn’t have to ‘prove’ that you belong in a disabled space. Some disabilities are less obvious or even invisible."

 

The commenter finished with, "This woman and especially the train conductor had no right to question you this was. It was inappropriate and unprofessional."

 

Yet another responder to the tale wrote, "You are not required to tell the world your situation. She forced your hand. Maybe she will think twice next time."

 

Said someone else in a simple statement of sympathy, "I’m sorry this happened to you."