Driving Assessment

Thursday 22nd October
Thursday was my first day that I had a full day of therapies. The morning started with Physio where I did some steps work and a bit of balance skills. I then had my seating clinic where a specialist comes in and checks out how you are sitting in your chair. He trialed me a new cushion which is about 2kgs lighter than the one I was using and is more comfortable. Its made out of 3 layers of honeycomb shaped holes, its rather interesting to look at. I then had OT where Trish and I headed over to the Holden dealership across the road to have a look at some 4wd's to work out if I can manage to get the chair up and into the car. I had no real trouble getting the thing up and in which was good. We made it back up for lunch which I ate rather quickly as I had to head down the hill for my driving assessment.

Trish took me down in the car(from rehab) for the assessment. The assessment consists of a physical check, looking at my eyes, arms and legs to make sure they work well. A few road rule tests, like a learners test you would do on a computer. Finally an awareness/memory test where you were giving 15 photos for 3 seconds and you had to remember what you saw, be it a car driving somewhere or a pedestrian walking across the road. After this the driving assessor and OT had a chat and thought I would be able to drive with both legs. Using my left foot for the brake and the right for the accelerator as normal. Like you would in a go-kart. We drove down the hill towards the river and I was put in the drivers seat. I was a bit sketchy at first but it didn't take long to get the hang of the brakes. Just have to push it slowly. I got my confidence back really quickly so they took me onto some busier roads which tested me a lot. One slight problem was the fact the car was so small and I was sitting on my cushion to make it easier to move my right leg back and forth. Turning my head to look out over my shoulder ended up with me whacking my head on the B-pilar... After the drive the OT and driving assessor both agreed on me having 8 lessons to get the hang of it all again,and then sit my test.You feel like you loose some of your driving skills when you don't drive for a while. Once that's done I'll be able to drive a normal automatic car without having any modification done to the car, which is a big bonus to me. I just have to wear my splint on the right ankle and that's it. I'll be back on the road soon,look out!!! Just have to get my licence

Went to the RSL Club down the road with a few of the other patients for Greg, who was going home tomorrow.

Stu