Baltimore, Maryland - Paralympics gold medalist Jessica Long has to explain over and over again why she parks her car in handicapped parking spaces. Now she's speaking out.

At the age of just 18 months, Jessica Long had both legs amputated from the knee down due to a genetic defect called fibular hemimilia. As Long explained to Buzzfeed, she was missing her calf bones and several other bones at birth.

Because of this, the Russian-born athlete who was adopted by Americans has a disability card and a permit for such parking spaces.

But even when she hangs that card behind the windshield of her car, the 28-year-old still occasionally gets called the worst kind of names.

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"So, it just happened again: I was parking my car, and – I hope she sees this – this woman just has the nerve to look me up and down, disgusted that I parked in the handicap spot," Long explained in a recent video on TikTok, which has already been viewed more than 4.9 million times.

It's painful for her to have to explain over and over again that she's allowed to park there, and it's also very hurtful to hear the words and ways in which other people try to put her in her place.

But it doesn't always stop at sassy looks from strangers. Long told Buzzfeed in the interview that she's also been stalked.

"My worst experience to date was an older couple that followed me around a grocery store and kept making comments because they wanted the handicap spot I took and said that I didn’t need it," the Paralympic swimmer recalled. "I even explained I had two prosthetic legs and they told me I was a liar."

Others wait outside the gold medal chaser's Toyota SUV and accost her when she exits the vehicle. "I’ve had people yell at me, leave notes on my windshield, knock on my car window, or wait for me to get out of my car just to tell me I can’t park there."

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Jessica Long experiences incidents like these several times a week.

On TikTok, Long sometimes describes how she copes with life without legs.

"I'm young, I'm athletic, but I'm also missing legs! And I know I make it look easy," she says. "But it's still really hard. My legs are heavy, they hurt me. I'm in pain." On some days, the suffering is greater than on others. In her life, the athlete says she has had "more surgeries than I can count."

To get through the day as well as possible, Long says, "I rely on my handicap pass."

Otherwise, everyday things like going grocery shopping, driving to the gym, and visiting relatives would be much more difficult.

"To all the handicap police out there: just be kind. You don't need to know why someone's parked in handicap," the 28-year-old clarified.

She said people should be more understanding of the situation of those affected and simply accept it when there is a parking permit in the vehicle.

Jessica Long has already competed four times at the Paralympic Games, winning a total of 23 medals, ten of which were gold. She is the second most successful US Paralympic athlete ever.

This year, she also wants to compete at the Paralympics in Tokyo.