A PORT Macquarie single mother is at her wits end, after inadvertently creating a Facebook storm while simply fighting for the rights of her severely disabled child.
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A trip to the chemist turned into a nightmare for Tracey Reynolds on Tuesday.
Ms Reynolds was after medication for her ill child Finn when she visited the Lake Innes Village.
Seven-year-old Finn has the most severe form of dystonia. He requires a gastronomy tube to be fed.
He had been sick and was dehydrated.
Ms Reynolds' toddler daughter, Annabelle, was also in the car on Tuesday.
Two of the centre's disabled parking spots were taken by cars, but the other three in the southeastern corner were being used by vehicles associated with garden work at the complex.
Ms Reynolds was forced to leave the kids in the car and run into the shop. Pouring rain, the weight of Finn's wheelchair and Annabelle's new-found ability to walk - and run - in a dangerous carpark environment meant there was no other choice.
The mother-of-five said that was unacceptable.
Ms Reynolds complained to the shopping centre's management and the company whose vehicles were taking up the spaces, asking them for the equipment to be moved. That's where the trouble started.
She claims has been humiliated and laughed at.
"They just didn't care," she said.
She just wants someone to listen to her plight.
The former police officer made calls to the law, and she also turned to Facebook in desperation.
A post on one of the Hastings' buy, swap and sell pages has made things even worse.
The involvement of some "keyboard warriors" have Ms Reynolds questioning humanity in Port Macquarie.
She has been called "rude", "ridiculous" and "pathetic" by people who just don't grasp the severity of the situation.
She isn't someone who whinges unnecessarily. Ms Reynolds just wants people to consider her family's plight.
"It's not easy, and a lot of people live with it," she said.
"That's what it is. It's my life, and he's my boy, and I'll do everything in the world for him. That's my role."
She said the situation was avoidable.
"This did not need to happen," a visibly upset Ms Reynolds said.
She said she wasn't seeking attention. She doesn't want this happening to anyone else.
"I didn't do it to get sympathy," Ms Reynolds said.
"I didn't do it to make a big debate on Facebook. I did it because everything else in my power had been done.
"It's disgusting, in this day and age, that people can still be so cruel and ignorant."
Centre management sympathetic
THE Lake Innes Shopping Centre manager is adamant there is enough disabled parking at the complex to cater for demand.
Brett Varcoe said seven dedicated spots for disabled patrons were usually enough for the centre's requirements.
Five are in the southeastern corner of the car park. Two are in another area.
Refurbishment work to the centre's garden which ran over time was the reason three of the parks were taken up by equipment and vehicles on Tuesday.
It was meant to be finished by 9am, according to Mr Varcoe.
"But that didn't happen," he said.
The plan allowed for the other two parks in that section of five to be available the whole time.
They were taken by other cars when Ms Reynolds visited the centre.
"It's not like no disabled parking was available," Mr Varcoe said.
He said he felt for Ms Reynolds during the experience.
"I'm certainly sympathetic to what she's saying," Mr Varcoe said.
He hoped she would return to the complex.
"She's a regular patron," Mr Varcoe said.
"We're grateful for her patronage."
