Prior to my stroke, I had been driving for several years so it really hit me after my stroke when the consultants at the hospital told me not to drive and surrender my licence to the DVLA. From that day I was determined, along with my other goals, to get back my driving licence. Due to the severity of my stroke a few years passed before I felt I was able to try and get my licence back.
I, initially , spoke with my stroke rehab consultant who has been so supportive and helpful throughout my journey of recovery. She asked me to go to a clinic to test me to make sure I have not developed epilepsy after my stroke. At the epilepsy clinic, a clinician attached some electrodes to my head and videoed me during the assessment. I was so worried that if I was told that I have epilepsy ,I wouldn’t be able to get my driving licence back. At the end of the assessment, I was keen to know the results, but the clinician told me that a doctor would review the test and write to me. I went home and waited in eager anticipation for weeks until the result came. I was over the moon when the letter arrived confirming that I am not epileptic. However, this was only the first step by confirming that I was medically fit to drive. The hard work started here…
Immediately ,I got my husband to contact the DVLA to apply for my licence. They sent out pages and pages of forms to fill out with repetitive information. Once I completed all these and sent them back ,I received a second lot of forms which seemed very similar to the first forms but had different form ID’s. I was confused so my husband called the DVLA and they confirmed they needed these forms filling out, as well as the earlier ones. Pfft, Redtape I thought as I got back to filling out more forms. This time, I waited for months to hear back from the DVLA and asked my husband to call multiple times to find out what is happening with my application. Eventually, we got a letter saying that we have been submitted for a driving assessment at an assessment centre and we should call them and book.
This is where the real fun started, it seems that as I had surrendered my initial licence and I needed another provisional licence they were supposed to send me this new licence. Now as I had not received this, a letter wasn’t getting sent to the assessment centre for my assessment so every time I called them to book, they had no record of me. I had my husband back on the phone to the DVLA and they asked me to ignore the earlier letter and they will send a new one. This cycle repeated a few times with my husband on the phone to them twice a week for a few months before I finally received my provisional licence and then assessment letter in the correct order. Receiving the provisional licence from the DVLA seemed an accomplishment within itself.
That’s it, I was raring to go. Time to get them long waiting ‘L’ plates out and on the road. The next day, we called the assessment centre and took the next slot they had. We went to the assessment centre and they did an initial assessment and asked me to return after three months once I had some practice to take the final assessment. I came home and instantly got insurance on our car. The next day , my husband took the car to a mobility adaption specialist and had the car modified with a left foot accelerator and a steering ball so I could practice driving with my left side. We spent the first few attempts in empty car parks late in the evening to familiarise with the new controls and I slowly built my confidence to get out on the roads. Initially at night when it was quieter and later through the day. I, then , took some professional driving lessons from an instructor just to fully refine my driving before my assessment.
On the day of my final assessment, I was very nervous. I travelled to Leeds with my husband who came along to support me. I went to the William Merritt centre for Disabled Living for my assessment and the lovely staff put me at ease. I silently prayed before my assessment. This meant so much to me, my recovery and my life.
The assessment consisted of the assessor asking me to read a number plate to check my vision which the assessor was happy with. Then, we got into the car and my nerves settled in my stomach. I regained my focus and took instruction to start driving. I followed the directions and was only asked to do an emergency stop as a manoeuvre to ensure I could react in an emergency. She also asked me to search the directions to a location on her iPad and memorize it and then drive to the location. This was only a short journey and I felt they gave me enough time to study the map.
Once I started driving, I felt calm and drove well. At the end of the assessment I drove back to the assessment centre and the lady asked me to come inside to discuss the results. I was so nervous, and my husband was eagerly waiting for my return to find out how it went. I felt it had gone well but didn’t know what to expect. Finally, the women revealed that I had PASSED! I was extremely happy and excited. Finally, I had achieved one of my major goals and I was back behind the wheel.
Now I just had to wait for my new car read about this on my other post: My new car!!
Don’t give up my stroke survivor family. With determination we can all achieve our goals.
