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Driving a Vehicle
Just curious, has anyone ever considered driving a car? If you have driven, was there a point when you decided you no longer should drive? I never have driven but last night I had a dream that I had our mini van converted so I could drive it. I have no idea where the dream came from, and I had mixed feelings about it. On one hand I’m confident in my decision not to drive, however maybe it would be a possibility. At this point it’s not something I would pursue. Still trying to decipher what the dream was telling me.
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5 Replies
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I have never even considered it as a possibility for myself. There is some amazing technology though. I met a guy named Sam Schmidt who is a former Indy Car driver and is now a quadriplegic. He still drives a Corvette with sip and puff and eye gaze technology. So anything is possible. I’m interested in autonomous vehicles. Those could be awesome for us.
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I do know people with SMA who drive, and that’s great. But like Ryan, it was never a priority for me. For one, I’m terrible with directions. Even if I could drive a car, I wouldn’t be able to get anywhere haha. But the main thing keeping me from trying it is that I don’t have enough dexterity with my hands to keep them steady. There are times when I struggle to drive my chair or my hand slips. If that were to happen on the road I’d be screwed.
But again that’s just me. I have other areas of independence that I’m content with. But if you have SMA and want to drive, know that it is possible.
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I drove without any modifications for many years, but when I could no longer feel that I could reliably stop when I need to, well that was that.
I haven’t driven for two years now.
Modifying a vehicle to enable my motorized wheelchair to get me in and then making it hand operable is far beyond my budget.
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Yeah that’s why I’ve always been reluctant to try it. Ultimately it’d be more work for me than it’s worth. But that’s cool you were able to drive for a good number of years. Do you primarily rely on public transportation now or friends and family to get you around?
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Dennis, do you miss the freedom of driving? I think that’s what surprised me the most about the dream is the feeling of freedom I felt and that was just in a dream. It’s great though that you realized when it was beyond your abilities. It’s probably easier to accept not driving for someone like me who has never driven.
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