driving

We take driving for granted we just do, you don't know what you have until you lose it!!

Around february-March 2009 I asked my neuro-physio whether she thought I would ever be able to drive a car again She said YES!!! Maybe not right away she said but she thought it would be possible. I left it another couple of months and asked her again (i really hadn't improved but I was very keen to get the ball rolling with driving again thought would be simple) BOY was I WRONG!!!! She said to me that she thought it would be the best idea to have an assessment done by a driver clinic OT (Occupational therapist) So she wrote the referral and I rang up to find out what I had to do. First there was a 3 month wait. Second we had to go to the repatriation hospital which is over an hours drive TWICE as it was the only place we could do the assessment because of the type of disability I have!! The first part of the assessment was at the clinic they ask a bucket load of questions about your medical conditions find everything that could possibly be wrong or hard with driving and then find a way to solve all these problems. Trouble is the treating dr HAS to fill in a form to the department of transport and there is no option on this form for this kind of assessment it is dumb the OTs are trying to change it. They even got me to write a letter to the Member of Parliament involved to try and change the form. Also the final decision is not made my the OT doing the assessment but by the dr this is also dumb as the dr has had nothing to do with the assessment the OT has. In other states of Australia the OTs do get a say in what the final decision is. In SA they can only recommend. Anyway so they decided that I had to go back to the eye specialist something was wrong in the assessment they thought could interfere with driving so that was another appointment the tests came back fine! The second part of the assessment was with a driving instructor with the OT in the back. This was difficult as the instructor made a big deal out of a minor thing that I did wrong and did not explain how I could fix this issue. Anyway it was decided that I would need 3 1 hour lessons with a driving instructor trained in rehab and this was done over 4 lessons 2 half hour and 2 1 hour lessons. All in all these assessments cost over $700 AUS with no rebate or anything (something else I put in the letter). It also was recommended that the only way I could drive was with the use of a WYMO. Basically a hydraulic lifting device that puts the wheelchair on the roof of car at the touch of a button at the cost of about $4000AUS. There were a couple other minor recommendations.

Well I knew we could not afford a WYMO so I asked my service provider who gives me personal care twice a week and various equipment and they said NO. Then for reasons I wont go into a few months later (after our trip to Tasmania for the choral festival) I asked to have a new service coordinator and in the meantime I spoke to the supervisor about all the difficulties I was having. Well she told me that my origial service coordinator apologises because he made a mistake the WYMO WAS available since the equipment service is for ALL PWD in two different agencies!!!! So a WYMO was once NOT available to domicilary Care clients but now was. The way this service works is that it is totally funded by the government and is serviced and maintained by the equipment service so you dont pay when it breaks down!! BUT the downside is that they often don't have enough money and I believe the main reason why they managed to get me this equipment was because a they made a mistake originally and b I complained about needing it. People who ask and ask often recieve. I had to go through an assessment to see if I qualified and I did and a few weeks later it was approved and installed before christmas. Fantastic!!! I was able to drive independently for the first time in 18 months. Downside is that I can only drive when I am not too tired and only short distances like 10-15 km at a time and only once or twice a week BUT it is starting point and one can assume it will only get better. The second advantage was that my husband did no longer have to haul the wheelchair in and out the car and its 25kg!!!

Unfortunately my husband had a little accident with the WYMO about a week ago it was not all the way down and he backed out the driveway and hit the downpipe causing the arm of the WYMO to bend thus tripping the switch too soon and also dislodging the roof rack it sits on making it a little unsafe and totally unusuable. Because it was between christmas and new year the equipment service that the repairs have to go through and the place that fixes them were both closed and luckily the guy who put it on the car has a mobile ph we just smsed him and set up the date to be fixed as the 6th January and rang the equipment service so I am excited that it will be fixed soon!