Vroom! Vroom! Am I too daring for you? - Part II

Back home things did not immediately take off as planned. It was not until sometime in February 2007 that I was able to start my driving lessons. Before then I had only managed to take three or four lessons under the guidance of my cousin and an instructor from one of the local driving school. The major setback that I faced during this period was that of having limited access to fuel – through one of the organisations for disabled persons in our country I was able to access 50 liters of petrol per month at a subsidized price and this was only sufficient to take me to and fro work for close to three weeks. I was then required to buy whatever excess fuel I needed at market price, which was unsustainable due to rising inflation. (In addition to the fuel expenses, I had to also consider the costs of hiring a professional driving instructor who would teach me how to drive.)

Research on driving with cerebral palsy
Despite being unable to take driving lessons over the eight month period, I did not lose heart. Instead I conducted a mini-research on driving with cerebral palsy. I opened a couple of web pages and in the search engines typed the words ‘driving disability,’ ‘disabled driver,’ ‘driving cerebral palsy,’ ‘driving and cerebral palsy,’ ‘driving with cerebral palsy’ or ‘driving with cerebral palsy hints and tips.’ I came across a lot of information but not all of it was useful – I came across general health information about cerebral palsy as well as empirical research findings and discussion forums in which people with cerebral palsy shared their experiences of learning how to drive; the challenges they faced in learning how to drive and eventually getting licenses; the time and effort it took for them to learn how to drive; and the liberation that they feel from being able to drive.

Cerebral palsy? What the heck is cerebral palsy?
The term cerebral palsy has appeared in this article several times now, even so more often in the last paragraph. Because you are not very much aware of disability related issues, you may as well be asking yourself ‘Cerebral palsy? What the heck is cerebral palsy?’ each time you come across the term.

Well, I’m glad you asked. Because, right now, I am going to take the opportunity to explain to you what cerebral palsy is. After that I am going to share with you my findings about driving with cerebral palsy and the experiences of people with cerebral palsy that have learnt how to drive.

Cerebral palsy… it is a term used to describe a group of disorders affecting body movement and muscle co-ordination. The medical definition of cerebral palsy is a "non-progressive" but not unchanging disorder of movement and/or posture, due to an insult to or anomaly of the developing brain. Development of the brain starts in early pregnancy and continues until about age three. Damage to the brain during this time usually results in cerebral palsy.

This damage interferes with messages from the brain to the body, and from the body to the brain. The effects of cerebral palsy vary widely from individual to individual. In my case it has resulted in low muscle tone and poor coordination of movements. The type of cerebral palsy that I incurred makes me look very unsteady and shaky. It also affects my sense of balance. Hence, I have poor coordination and walk unsteadily with a wide based gait, placing my feet unusually far apart. I also sometimes shake a lot, like a tremor you might have seen in a very old person, especially when I am trying to handle or hold a small object such as a pen. Because of the shaky movements and problems coordinating my muscles, I often take longer than other people to complete certain tasks such as doing up my shirt buttons. Also due to my disability my speech is somewhat slurred.

It is possible to drive
Obviously after you read the description that I just gave about my disability you must be asking yourself How on earth can this man ever think that one day he will be able to drive?

Well, one of the most important lessons that I learnt from the research that I conducted, I believe, was that it was possible for a person with cerebral palsy to drive – even though it may not be the easiest thing on earth to do.

In a study that was conducted by the Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute, VTI, 17 out of the 24 young people with cerebral palsy who were undergoing training for a driving license and were part of the study had already got their driving licenses at the time the researchers compiled the report that they posted on the internet.

Simply put, the researchers observed a success rate of 70.8% among young people with cerebral palsy. This rate was fair enough for me to believe that the possibility of me being successful at my endevours were high. What more with the testimonies of many individuals with cerebral palsy that had taken the initiative to learn how to drive and had been successful at it.

‘10 years ago I finally accomplished driving a car,’ wrote one 37 year old lady.

‘I got my driver’s license in 1969,’ wrote another person.

Statements like these really raised my hopes but there was obviously more to their stories than the simple fact that these drivers had accomplished driving despite their disability.

To know what else was captured in these individuals’ stories keep your eyes open for when I send you the link to my next blog entry.

Vroom! Vroom! Am I too daring for you.

Free mobility is something that many people take for granted. At any time they can stand up and walk to any room of the house, they can decide to take a stroll around the neighbourhood or take a ride to the grocery store. What more with the widespread increase in the use of personal vehicles, they can at any time drive to the nearest shopping mall and pick up a thing or two. It never crosses their minds that there is someone out there that does not have such free mobility.

Born with cerebral palsy, I legged behind other children my age when it came to gaining the ability to do things on my own – even today there are things that I am not perfect at or that I cannot do on my own at all.

One of the things that took me some time to master was the ability to walk on my own. I finally gained my full ability to walk on my own at the age of twelve. Before then I got around using a number of devices: first, it was a wheelchair; I then moved on to a tricycle; then a bicycle with side wheels; and, finally, a walking frame. From using a walking frame, I started to walk on my own. However, this was just the beginning step in my journey towards the enjoyment of free mobility.

When I started work in 2006 I used to commute to work everyday. I would also walk from the bus station to workplace, which are at opposite sides of town. After a while, I approached my bosses and requested for their assistance in acquiring a car. “I want to buy a car,” I said. “I also want it modified so that I can be able to drive it,” I explained.

The company’s assistance to my cause was far much more than I expected. It offered to help me acquire the car and have it modified. Above all, it also took up the bill. So, in May last year, I bought my car and had it shipped into the country. However, I had to travel all the way to South Africa in order to have it modified to my needs.

The modifications on my car
To say that my car had modifications done on it to suit my needs is somewhat not true in the strictest sense of the meaning of the word. The truth is that I had some assistive devices added to my car. The assistive devices that were added to my car were a pair of hand controls and a spinner knob. Hand controls enable me to accelerate or brake using a hand-controlled lever (to accelerate I push the lever downwards and to brake I push the lever forward). The spinner knob enables me to turn the steering wheel with a full turning radius using only one hand.

A big question mark
Before adding the hand controls and spinner knob to my car, one of the specialists at the company that was going to work at fitting these devices to my car asked me this question: Are you sure that you will be able to drive?

Reality hit me right there. In fact, I nearly lost my confidence at what I was trying to accomplish and was about to call it quits. I mean this question came from the person I least expected to ask me such a question and at a time I least expected it. We had been communicating about having these devices added to my car so that I would be able to drive for over two months; made payment for it; traveled for more than 1700 miles; and was about to have it done when the question came: Are you sure that you will be able to drive?

I looked at him and gave him my most honest response. “I don’t know,” I said. “But I am ready to give it my best shot.”

He explained to me that ‘trying’ was not going to be good enough. I would have to learn to drive the car and be able to share the road with other road users. I would have to practice so much that my presence on the road would not endanger my life as well as that of other road users. As a bonus, he gave me no reassurance whatsoever that at the end of the day I would be able to drive on my own, but he said, “You must understand that we do not know if you will be able to drive but since you’ve already paid for everything we’ll do the job.” So they did and we did another 1700 miles back home.

Eight months passed
Back home things did not take off as planned.

[To be continued]

Song of Pain

In the midst of one crowded city
A grungy woman comforted herself
near a shop's entrance
She was not shy
Neither of her rags
Nor of her duty -
Her song she sang
She sang from dawn to dusk
SONG OF PAIN!!
The rattling of the few nickels in her
plate was her beat
The crying of the infant strapped on
her back was her back up vocals
"Ndibatsireiwo vanhu vamwari" was her chorus
She composed it for us
Her song of pain.

A few more nickels in her plate
Her benefits (for the day) not even a meal!
Her gain from the day's work

In her rags of poverty
Not stupidity
Her song of pain she sang
Her song of pain she sings
Her son of pain she can forever sing
Her song of pain.