Getaway Car: 09/18/10

The past few weeks have been wild.  My driving instructor has been really swamped and I've been busy with work.  However, the more important delay in practice recently has been the fact the car was wrecked....and not by a bioptic driver.  From what I hear it was the instructors fault.  Just goes to show we ALL make mistakes.  It's what we learn from them that matters.  I recently had the opportunity to get out of the city and drive back in my hometown on some country roads.  While not rocket science, there are several good learning points from my little getaway.

First, I really got a lot of practice at four way stops.  I never realized there were no real red and green lights and intersections I've rode through, as a passenger,  throughout my whole life.  If you ask me 4 way stops are a accident waiting to happen.  If you get to one and didn't know till you drive up it's one and don't know who got there first, it could be a mess.  I especiallly find this a challenge becuase I can't see through car windows.  So when you are motioning people with your hands to stop or go and mouthing verbal consent, just keep in mind anyone with a vision problem who is driving will not have the slightest clue you're doing any of that.  You're wasting your time.  My brother mentioned the unofficial "I'll let you go first" signal is when people blink thier headlights at you.  It's basicly a courtesy call that it's your turn to go.  One of my friends made me think that just meant cops where nearby.  lol  But at 4 way stops it has a different meaning.

I have to stop and say that driving in the town I grew up in my whole life was incredible.  I mean, it was Iike I was in a dream.  An out of body experience.  Of course, just regular driving still seems like an out of body experience to me.  I really could not fathom that I was in control of things.   I drove to church and back, to my grandparents, all over the nearby small towns, the interstate and highway, and of course to Walmart.  Now the Walmart trip brought about a sudden unexpected test that I had not encountered.........a downpour!   We went from sun to a rainstorm in minuites and like they say:  when it rained.....it poured.  I had never had to use windshield wipers, find lights (on this car I've barely driven any) and so on.  You can imagine that I was so relieved my brother was with me when this happened.  But I still must have a licensed driver with me anytime I drive till I get my liscense.  I took in more than any book could tell me.  It's so amazing to me how the streets change when it rains so much that the yellow lines almost disappear under the high gloss water buildup.  I leanred about hydroplaning...NO...I did not try it.  lol  I was told to keep to the side of the road with the least water if at all possible.

Aside from the rain I had a good bit of practice in the sun.  I found that people love to go over the speed limit on country roads.  I also found that when people are caught behind a recycling truck on a two way street they don't mind risking thier life to go around the truck and entering into incoming traffic!  Just a little patience would go a LONG way....maybe a lifetime.  Anyways, I guess i shouldn't open my mouth too wide, I may be the person doing all this one day.  Oh, I also got caught behind a school bus.  I had to be slowed by this school crossing zone during the end of the school day.  All great experiences.

Of course, while on my vacation, my driving instructor calls me and says she has an opening......REALLLY???? When I'm gone way out of town I get this phone call for the FIRST time saying we can practice for the first time in weeks.  Frustrating, but reality.  The good news is the first day back in town we drove.....and the second day!  I think this may be due to a more regular training schedule since some of her clinics have winded down.  What did we do?  Well she asked what I wanted....I told her that we had never parallel parked.  So we went downtown, found a spot to test,  and the rain started just in time.  It was not heavy so we managed.  She talked me through it and I parallel parked perfectly on the FIRST attempt!  WOW!  I must say that the driving manual did not instruct me to parallel park the way I did it.  Anyhow, with that behind me, I can start doing it more frequently so I'll be ready for my drivers test.

I also told her I want practice changing lanes on the interstate in fast moving traffic.  The way lanes suddnely run out of the freeway with little or no warning really concerns me.  There were not always signs wanring you.  So it's scary if no one will let you over when your lane runs out.  If the car comes to a complete stop your chances of getting over at such a slow rate of speed go way down, not to mention your safety level.  Lanes should not run out....thats all there is to it.  Thats my opinion and I'm sticking to it.  :)   Oh, thats another thing I learned on my getaway!  If you are on the freeway and passing a on ramp you should try and more over to the opossing lane so the people coming on won't have you in the way of them.  See if everyone would do that, this lane ending thing would not be a big deal.

Seeing stop signs with the red filters during daylight driving seems to be the most difficult thing to do visually.  That is of course just a day problem, but still important.  I usually just go slow at most intersections I'm unfamiliar with to ensure I'm not about to run a stop sign.  I hope to post a graphic soon of what the differences are between your view of a stop sign and the altered view by red filters.

I've been doing some research to find a basic car care maintenance class.  Instead, I found this past week my city offered a awesome driving event that is done FREE to teach you how to drive during rare severe driving conditions.  Read about it HERE.  The official website is www.driversedge.com  Definitely take a look at how they are mastering what drivers education classes fail to do: Teach hands on defensive driving and hazardous driving skills.

The Green Light: 07/13/10

My usual bus driver was on vacation this morning.  I scheduled a 7 a.m. pickup to be at the Dr. office by 8:30.  Yeah it seems crazy,  but I know who and what I'm dealing with, you don't.  My bus drove up at 6:27 honking.  I scurried to get a to-go breakfast thrown together before they would honk again and agitate my neighbors who don't have to be up when the rooster crows.  I made it to the Low Vision Center about 6:40.  I had 2 hours to kill.  This sounds bad, but it's definitely better then being late for something so important.  The area of town the Low Vision Center is in is a bustling part of the city.  There are buses dropping people off every few minutes across the street.  I saw doctors arriving for work, people jogging, delivery trucks unloading medical equipment, bicyclist, people walking to college classes, people leaving the office from surgery, people being rushed to the ER, and janitors putting the last touches on things.  You name it, it happens in a matter of seconds downtown.  

About 30 minutes before my appointment I went upstairs nearing the lobby of my Dr.'s office.  I used this time to brush up on some handy practical tips I found for taking a Visual Field Test.  Click here to read up on the 10 tips yourself if you're taking the test or know someone who is going to.  I walked into the office signed some papers, payed my copay, and at about 8:37 my Dr. appeared.  To my delight, it was the same Dr. who treated me in December at the neighboring Dr. offices.  She didn't remember me at first, but I think it sank in slowly.  We talked about what happened in my last visit.  I did mention to this Dr. the Dr. I saw last week did not tell me I could wear my contacts while testing until after I failed the test.  When questioned she had indicated it "would not matter either way."  At the same time, she did not offer to test again with my contacts, but instead told me to come back today to go through this again with a different doctor.  Even more shocking to me was the very paperwork she was to fill out from the State Department of Public Safety had specific instructions to measure patient's visual fields using their "carrier lens or its equivalent."  Equivalent in my situation means wearing my contacts.  Hopefully she just made a mistake.  We all do.  I never got the feeling last week she was doing anything intentionally wrong.  So with that off my chest today's Dr. began prepping Humphrey for my visual field test.  Who's that?  Check him out below.

                                          Everyone Meet Humphrey.

I thought he would give me a face tan.  Oh well...  While he didn't talk much he was very useful in taking my Visual Field Test.  First you sit down, the lights are lowered, and you put a patch on one eye.  LOL  It sounds like a date I once had.  :)  You position your chin in the middle of that square you see in the photo, stare into a tiny black hole in the center of the dome, and press a hand held buzzer the second you see a small white light enter your field of vision.  It seems straightforward.  One eye is tested at a time.  To me the patch that must stay on your other eye during testing makes this feel abnormal.  The doctor stands behind Humphrey waving the light in and out of your field of vision while making markings on the visual field graph you see below.  She used a large light at first for me to follow; then made it smaller.  You'll notice the top of my visual field seems more straight across.  The Dr. stated this may be caused by the way my brow is very distinctly protruded, limiting my upper visual fields.  

 Above is my actual Visual Field test results on one eye.  The inner line represents the larger light they shine.  The outer line represents the smaller light they shine.

Well before I knew it, the test was over.  The outcome:  I passed.  I got the green light to continue my bioptic driving training!  My doctor mentioned that she thought me failing last week may just be a fluke because my vision problem is not a physical one that deteriorates.  It's not physical at all.  Click here to read more on my diagnosis: Cone Dystrophy.  So basically everything with my vision in general stays stable aside from the normal vision problems everyone faces with vision as they age. 

Thanks for all your prayers, calls, emails and concern.  This was a easy way for God to close the door on all this for me.  He didn't.  For that I thank Him.  Thus the song you're listening to popped on my radar.  Hope you like it.  I've got a lot more new information I can't wait to share with you in the coming weeks.  Hopefully I will have time to write all the stuff floating around in my head.

Dangerous Curve Ahead: 07/08/10

I'm still practicing with Jennifer about once every other week on average.  The progress seems slow, but steady.  She's pretty pleased with my progress overall.  She even speculated I may be ready to get my license by August!  I'm getting more comfortable changing lanes while moving at a high rate of speed.  I've learned how to do a 3 point turn.  I've conquered parking garages.  I've drove with bicyclist weaving around me.  I've driven through construction zones and conquered 4 way stops when the light was malfunctioning.  And while there's still more to learn I got some news today that was very unsettling and thew me for a curve.

My usual routine when I get home is to check the mail shortly after getting in from work.  Well last week I got a letter that raised my interest.  It was from the Alabama Department of Public Safety in Montgomery.  As it turns out, they needed my doctor to fill our a form showing I was still eligible to be a bioptic driver.  Well, I just went to see the doctor right next door to my low vision specialist in December.  So I called hoping they could sign it, but no, that would be too easy and cheap.  Instead, they told me I'd have to see my low vision bioptic specialist.  Ok, I called down there and found out given the short time frame I had to submit this paperwork, I was going to see some new specialist that works with my regular low vision specialist.  I was dismayed, but the important thing was to get this paperwork completed before I started facing problems with the state.  So I made an appointment for today after work.  I took a taxi to ensure I'd be there on time.


I walked in and did the usual nonsense with showing my insurance card to the same office for the millionth time.  After this, I was escorted to the exam room by the a specialist I've not met before.  She began the usual test of reading the eye chart with and without my bioptic lens.  After that we did the part where she shines lights in my eyes and examines my eyes.  She also used a machine to measure what my prescription was.  I had my contact in and she asked I take them out.  After that, she wanted to do a visual field test on me.  I've done it several times before.  Your face is positioned looking into this plastic bowl for the exact moment the laser light jumps in your field of vision.  They give you a hand held buzzer so you can pinpoint this.  It's kind of like a video game.  Well, she told me I failed the test in my right eye but we'd come back and try it once more after testing the left eye.  After I passed the left eye test, we did the visual field test again on the right eye...I failed again.....not good.


End result:  If I don't pass this test I can't drive.  So with that said I was definitely disappointed and aggravated to say the least.  This Dr. seemed very matter-of-fact-ish, but the doctor was young and at the end of her long day, so maybe that was effecting her attitude and my opinions.  I'm sure I'm a little biased about her given the bad news she gave me.  The good news out of all this is she told me I can try again next week with yet another specialist I've never met.  If I don't pass this test next Tuesday (07/13/10) at 8:30 a.m. it's car lights OUT for my bioptic driving dreams.  Please pray God's will be done with all of this.  I've always said to Him if I will end up hurting myself or someone else due to my vision challenges then He needs to close the door on all this.  It may be time, it may not.  Personally, I'd love to continue.  Even if my driving is extremely limited it is 100% better then no driving.  This turn of events will also force me into making some major life changing decisions.  So I'll keep you posted on what happens and thanks ahead of time for your prayers on Tuesday morning for me.  May His will be done.

The Commute: 03/30/10

Long time no blog update right?  Sorry.  Just nothing to tell.  My trainer's schedule is usually busy.  One day we had tentatively set, we both forgot by the time it arrived.  The next week Jennifer took vacation.  All of this and a lot of rain have led to it being a month between lessons.  So we finally agreed on last Tuesday, 03/30/10.  Before I even met her that day trouble tried to inch its way into my plans.


I was at work, engulfed in my research, yet thinking I wanted to have things better prepared so I did not waste a moments time driving today.  I made sure my bioptics were in working order and clean of dust.  I kept looking at the clock consistently making sure to try and get downstairs a little earlier then my 12:00 appointment.  I made sure to put my contacts on, instead of wearing eye glasses.  I looked at my phone to ensure it was charged and checked for missed calls.  Despite all these efforts a sudden streak of terror ran through my mind.  I realized I left my wallet at home with my drivers permit in it.  I couldn't drive today.  I thought about just not telling Jennifer I left my permit at home.  The repercussions of that lie far outweighed the benefits.  If I wrecked that car with no permit on my person, I may never have a chance to drive again.   I couldn't believe this.  I was going to have to call Jennifer 30 minutes before my oh so belated appointment and tell her that I couldn't go today because of my carelessness!  I sat thinking about calling her and suddenly remembered something.  The day before, I put my wallet in my lunchbox because my pants pockets were so small and shallow.  Could it still be in there?  I swirled my rolling chair around to my lunchbox as fast as I could.  Like a mad man looking for treasure I snatched my lunchbox up off my desk.  Then I glanced into the side zipper pocket.  There sat my wallet with my permit and everything else in tact.  Whew...I did not have to cancel after all.  Shortly thereafter Jennifer called and said she was outside.  She still beat her own appointment time, so I wasn't downstairs yet.  I wanted to do this during my lunch break today so I did not have to take time off work.


Jennifer jumped out of the car after she saw me and got in the passenger seat.  I was a little shocked she was going to make me drive downtown again at the beginning of this trip.  Today, unlike my first drive, was a extremely bright sunny day.  Translation: it was hellacious for me to see outside.  However with the red filters. things really were better, just not as good as a cloudy day would have provided.  I hopped in and remembered to put my seatbelt on, to turn the mirrors so I could see and to put the dark blanket on the dash.  I had memorized the gear order.  I put my left foot back so I would not be tempted to use it at all.  Jennifer was not satisfied with my right leg angle to the break and gas pedals.  She watched me move up closer to the wheel till she was satisfied.  According to the wikiHow website your leg should be at a 120 degree angle when driving.  After Jennifer got done texting, I shifted gears to roll out to the main street.  I had to ask her which way to go.


As soon as I had that out of my mouth she reminded me to turn my blinker on.  I did it wrong.  Those poor confused drivers behind me.  lol  I struggled with remembering if pushing it up was for the left or down was for the right or the opposite.  I need a rhyme to remember them by or something stupid that will stick.  If you have any suggestions please let me know.  We hit the main road and she reminded me of the one way streets.  I made the turn but Jenn held the wheel some to ensure I would not turn into anyone else's lane.  I was doing good seeing the red lights for the most part.  Seeing the stop signs with the red filters proved to be a challenge.  Lucky for me, this particular road showed the word "STOP" painted on the ground which proved most helpful.  Regardless, I was still very observant before crossing ANY street.  Jennifer ended up telling me she was training 5 people.  I''m sitting here wondering how in the world that utilized all of her day unless they are doing much more training then I am.  Anyways, before I knew it we were.....well....'Where are we?"  I laughed out loud.  I was SO busy concentrating on staying in my lane, seeing red and green lights, doing lane changes, turning on the correct blinker, hitting the gas very lightly, and listening to Jennifer's instructions....that I had NO CLUE where we were.  After she told me, I began to pay attention to my surroundings more and figured it out.  We came the back way to my house.  This involved some extremely curvy streets.  I was so excited.  I told her one thing I was thinking.  It seemed much easier for me to stay in my lane then I ever thought it would be.  That was a big difference from what I assumed while observing others drive and actually driving myself.  I always thought it looked so daunting to have to keep moving that wheel left and right.  But it became no biggie for me personally.  Jennifer immediately exclaimed she was glad I was so good at it because she recently had a nightmare about one of her other pupils who veers into other lanes much too often.  Can you imagine how many nightmares you'd have about driving if you took legally blind people out on the road daily?  She's definitely got nerves of steel.  Maybe her keen ability to listen to PRM radio nonstop enhanced that gift.  


Well before I knew it we were coming toward my apartments!  Wow, I had driven myself home.  She instructed me to park and I couldn't even see the lines at all.  They desperately need repainting.  Regardless,  I was lucky enough to pull in to her satisfaction.  Ok, now time to back out.  I started backing out, but turned and looked first.  I was starting to turn the wheel toward where I wanted the car to curve out, but she stopped me.  I was told to pull out straight and then when almost all the way in the street to start to curve the car back.  That seemed easy enough, but there were no cars around to hit either.  I managed to shift the gears correctly back to drive.  Now we were off to work again.  Then the shocker came.


She told me to take the "expressway" back.  OK I barely was comfortable going 30, taking the expressway.....was she crazy!???  It was good to get this experience because near my home there's this really crazy intersection where about 6 streets all meet in one location.  Oh yes, I'm lucky enough to get to navigate that mess every day.  First of all, the traffic was really busy and I had to get the guts up to dart out in front of traffic after being sure I had the all clear in both directions.  There was no light at this juncture.  I did dart out fast...too fast.  Had she not grabbed the wheel I could have darted straight into the ditch.  So onto the expressway we crept.  I approached this huge curve where you merge into expressway traffic.  My foot instinctively let off the gas as I turned the curve.  She told me not to because I had to be moving fast on the freeway.  Ok, be careful what you wish for.  


Before I knew it she had grabbed the wheel acting as my eyes helping me change lanes.  It did seem a little much and she said we'd focus on lane changes later, but for now she'd do all that.  I was kind of in shock at this point because as I glanced to my right I could FEEL this 18 wheeler on the side of us and another car on the left.  I was wedged in.  This all seemed so unreal...even more unreal I WAS THE ONE driving!  I tried my best to keep focused before someone honked because I was going so slow.  We let one person around me.  Then we found a quick route to work.  We did a huge U turn by the hospital and went straight there.  The traffic lights downtown are sideways.  I never seem to see the ones hung sideways going home, just coming to work.  I accidently told Jenn the wrong street my workplace was on.  I keep getting it mixed up because we changed locations recently.  So then some pedestrians cross in front of me.  Crisis avoided, lucky fools.  Then I noticed something else.  The light was green, BUT if I did not stop I was going to hit the car in front of me who had his brake lights on.  I don't know why he had them on.  I think because traffic in front of him moved slowly through the green light.  This made me think that it's more important to look at the car in front of you then the traffic light.  After all the light won't kill you, the cars will.  


We took a right on red and dodged a vendors truck before swerving into my workplace's drop-off area.  I was running late and cut our appointment shorter than Jennifer planned.  She hopped out and agreed to meet me in the coming weeks for more training.  She seemed more comfortable this time.  Hopefully we're building some trust in each other.  My feet hurt after this.  I think I didn't know how to properly rest them WHILE driving.  If you have any tips on this please let me know.  All in all, it was a great trip and as always I learned a lot.  I'm going to need to improve on my blinker knowledge, backing up, and parking abilities before the next drive.  Hopefully I can meet with my boss soon to iron out a driving schedule that can be consistent, yet work for all parties involved.  I'll keep you posted on those developments.   

Shifting Gears!

My Bioptic training has officially shifted gears.  Today it was finally time to for me to sit in the drivers seat.  My appointment was a 1:00 but it ended up being pushed up to a partly sunny Monday at 12:10.  I was so busy at work today I had no time to feel nervous or excited.  But one thing was for sure, I definitely was not forgetting it!  I had been thinking about this day all weekend.  Hoping and praying nothing would mess it up if it's meant to be.  


When I arrived outside Jennifer and I battled my new velcro attachments.  I didn't realize they would make it hard to push the bioptic through my red filter.  (I just put the velcro on today.)  Once that situation was resolved we went to a empty parking lot where the real work would begin.  She asked me if she should assume I know nothing.  I told her I have driven with family a few times in my life, but just assume I knew nothing because it's the truth.   She laughed and we parked.  I got in the drivers seat and she showed me the break, the gas, and the gears.  Then we spent some time adjusting the mirrors electronically.  She got out of the car to demonstrate where my blind spot is and told me to be sure I was not seeing the side of my car in the side mirrors.  Once everything was lined up she showed me how to look at them and said it would be most important when changing lanes.  She then taught me how to backup looking backwards, over my shoulder, to the right.  This seemed awkward.  My neck hated it.  But she and I both knew this would be on the driving test, so I best get used to it.  Her car seems very quiet, you can barely even hear the engine running.  She also did something that may help a lot of drivers.  She put a black cloth over the dashboard to obscure sun reflections.  Nice touch.  


I got a little frustrated that I could not see the gear shifts well at all.   Her car had a stick shift attached to the wheel.  The gear letters are on the dash and have a tiny square that appears around them when selected.  The wheel was at times in the way when not straight and also the gear display was just so tiny on her dark dashboard.  Red filters do not help when trying to read a shadowed, unlit dashboard.  The newer cars have gears like the ones like pictured above, so these are much easier to read.  In fact, I got into a friends car tonight and was delighted with how big everything was and his backlighting and special placing of the speedometer was really awesome.  I love technology.  It was big enough I could see the speed from the passenger seat.  Anyways, on Jennifer's training car, teeny tiny everything.  There are some things you can do to enhance the dash like buying a sheet magnifier and cutting it to fit your dashboard.  See www.maxiaids.com if you're interested.  I will decide if I need one if I ever get my own car depending on the display style.  


After adjusting the mirrors I took the car out of Park and we began to roll forward.  Then she told me to turn.  I immediately brought up the problem I have with using the wheel is not knowing how far to turn it to straighten the wheels back out.  She acknowledged this is something that is not natural that I must get used to.  I also made an instant mistake;  I put my left foot on the break.  WRONG!  She said I better not make her tie my foot down.  She said my left foot will not be useful.  After that, Jennifer showed me how to pivot my right foot from gas to pedal.  I never knew any of this.  I always assumed people used whatever they were comfortable with.  I also never knew until this past week that signs exist just under bridges to let you know what street/bridge you're driving under.  I was then instructed by Jennifer to do a few circles around the parking lot.  Once I was comfortable with that, she instructed me to drive to a parking spot to see how well I could park between the white lines.  I did so, forgot to put the car in park, she reminded me, and got out to assess my accomplishment.  Well no accomplishment here...I failed to line it up.  The car was way to one side and crooked.  With that she got her "doo-dad thingy" out of the truck.  It was something she stuck in the middle of the hood to help me judge my ability to center park.  This bought to my attention that the middle of the car was in fact far to my visual right.  With some practice lining it up visually, it was time to try parking again.  This time I got out to examine my work I was happier with the results.  I was lined perfectly straight with the lines and just a tad too far to the right.  


What next?  I drove around a little more and was now gliding along trying to make sure I stayed on "my side' of the road, not veering from lane to lane.  This seemed to come easy, but then again there was no oncoming traffic to my left I could judge by.  Next she told me to give it some gas.  I did and started going faster then I was comfortable with and began hitting the break.  That was not what I was told to do.  She encouraged me again to let off the break and give it some gas.  I did and again did so apprehensively, slowly and gently.  At this point she pushed my leg down some to force me to go faster.  Sneaky, but effective.  I was still scared.  lol  Good thing I did not know what was going to happen next.  She was pretty happy with my handling of the car and told me to keep driving to the end of the parking lot toward the road.  Then her next words were "I probably shouldn't do this but you're doing so well, why don't we take a right onto that road."  Now I KNEW I'd be sick.


She just told me to take this car into REAL traffic on a REAL used road, in a downtown area with ONE ways and tons of red lights and idiots crossing.  NO WAY.......yep.  We looked for oncoming traffic.  I was so slow to turn my curb I like to have never gotten out of there.  She said most people are going too fast when they turn a curb anyways.  I felt so inadequate being in the midst of the traffic chaos.  But then something happened or didn't happen I should say.  I started driving and didn't run into the other lane.  i did not hit cars parked on the side of the road.  I also ran no red lights and proceeded on green.  I even remembered to brake slowly and learned how to use my turning signals attached to the drivers wheel on the left side.  Wow....I was having an out of body experience almost.  I couldn't grasp what was going on.  She helped me turn the wheel a few times to ensure I did it far and fast enough.  I also managed to stop the correct distance from traffic in front of me.  Well before I knew it we had ran into some construction.  We had to go an alternate route and around all these 18 wheelers parked horizontally in the road.  WHEW  Now this was getting nuts.  I managed to navigate through that with Jennifer's help.  My next challenge was realizing I needed to yield to traffic when making certain turns.  I don't grasp it all because so many lanes were involved, but will study that more.  OK...now for the part I couldn't wait to tell you.


I got on the next road and notice I'm getting closer to work.  There is red lights about every block I'm driving, but today more were green.  Well, I see a car brake in front of me and notice the light had just turned green. I start slowly rolling forward and suddenly this insanely lucky pedestrian J-walks in front of me and my green light.  He went 3 steps in the road.  I slowed to a stop but he then realized his error and stepped back to the curb.  Oh my gosh yaw, if he only KNEW who was behind that wheel! lol  Maybe my filters got the message across and alerted him to how unfortunate crossing in front of a bioptic user could turn out.  Well today he was lucky and Jennifer was pretty happy I think that I saw it all happen and responded accordingly.  We drove a few more blocks, turned a curb, and I saw my workplace.  Wow, was this for real?  I drove into my workplace parking lot to drop MYSELF off?  I was in shock I guess.  I put the car in park.  Jennifer gave me my bag I stored my bioptics in and said she couldn't believe I was not more excited.  I told her I was just scared.  A scared me is a quiet me.  She was very encouraging about todays testing.  We said goodbye and the workplace security asked where I had been.  I said, you wouldn't believe it, but I drove here!  He laughed and said nope, he didn't believe it.  But he knows I'm using bioptics and helps me watch for the bus each and every day, so he was just teasing.  


I walked back into work with it being the most further thing from my mind.  That's kinda bad since this is a new job.  But who can blame me?  I've waited all my life for this day.   I really had fun learning to drive today despite being a little scared.  Being scared will get you no where.  It's healthy to have some fear, but not to the point it prevents you from accomplishing your goals.  Today fear was put aside with sheer reserved shock and joy.  Every time I drive things should get a little easier.  I can't wait to try it again in a few weeks. 

A Year Ago Today

Today marks the one year anniversary since I first went to see my low vision optometrist with dreams of driving.  I thought this may be a good time to introduce you her: Dr. Dawn DeCarlo, featured in the photo above.  After all, she's really responsible for all of this.  She's the only one in my state who ventures to deal head on with bioptic technology.  She serves as a liaison with the state DMV and is a accomplished researcher.  She's excellent at her profession and still manages to be very personable.  She's an invaluable asset to me and many others who are blessed to be able to be her patient.  I hope she doesn't go anywhere anytime soon!  I guess that's selfish, but who can blame me?  She's great!


Driving is something we all undoubtedly take for granted.  I came into this Bioptic adventure trying to hold in any expectations.  Because of that, I'm not really disappointed I haven't driven yet.  After all, a year ago today, I had no bioptics, no permit, no red filters, no bioptic blog and no clue what would come of it all.  With that said, it's great to say my journey is far from over.  I've not been told NO by anyone...including the DMV...,but I am growing impatient for more progress.


Over the past 9 months my career advancements have taken over much of my personal life.  I'm happy to report things are much more settled these days on that front.  I've contacted Jennifer a few times with little success in getting any road trip training scheduled.  This week I'm amping it up. I finally feel I have adequate time and energy needed to devote to learning how to drive.


I also put some finishing touches on my bioptics.  Since I'm so light sensitive, Jennifer suggested I could cut a sun filter to fit onto the hole of my boptics during the day.  If you look at the photo of my bioptics  (on prior post) you'll see the bioptic sits in the red filters.  Well that tiny square hole in the top was the only thing not filtered.  While I didn't want it red filtered, as I wouldn't be able to see the green lights at all, I needed something to protect me from the sun when looking through the bioptic peep hole during daylight hours.  I brain stormed.  I would need something that i could actually easily remove for night driving and reattach for day driving.  The fix: velcro.  Yes friends, cousin to duct tape, velcro can solve many of life's problems.  I'll post a photo soon, as I don't think explaining this really helped you understand.  So with my driving tools all ready to go, I just need my trusty trainer to saddle up her horses so we can hit the trainee trail.  Yippee Ti Yi Yo....thats cowboy for Happy Trails Ahead!  As always, I'll keep you posted.