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Finale Part 1: She Believed She Could but Didn't Because It Wasn't Accessible

 

    I began preparing for my vehicle modification and assistive technology with Voc Rehab towards the end of my junior year of college. One of the first steps in this journey, was scheduling a driver’s evaluation and training from Shepherd’s Center in Atlanta. For this to take place, I needed a “prescription” from a doctor. Essentially, I needed a doctor to describe my medical condition and why it was necessary for me to go through the driver’s training. I was able to get that from my orthopedic doctor at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.

               While I waited for the call from Shepherd’s Center to set up my driver’s evaluation and training, I began shopping around for vehicles and submitting inquiries online. We wrote letters to several local car dealerships asking them if they could donate a vehicle that I could use to modify. We didn’t hear back from the dealerships, which was very disappointing. This was another roadblock in my journey, or so I thought.

A few months later, we received a call from Custom Mobility, a car dealership in Athens, GA. This dealership only carries wheelchair accessible vehicles. Up until this point, we were unaware that there were vehicles already modified so this would save a lot of time and money. Custom Mobility made me feel like they cared about me, my situation, and my journey. They were AMAZING to work with. Even to this day, I have a great relationship with their owners.

               We discussed my finances, to determine what I would be able to afford as a monthly car payment, and what type of vehicle I was looking for. At the time, I did not have a job, I was only receiving Disability Supplemental Security Income (SSI), which was less than $500 a month. The initial quote that was given me was a payment amount that would allow me to pay my car off within 5 years. Although the 5-year loan sounded great, I knew the payments weren’t feasible for me with what I was receiving every month. They went back to the drawing board and was able to decrease the payments to something I could afford with my SSI which would make the loan a 10-year term. I was fine with this because even though I believed God for a job, I wanted to make sure that I didn’t take on a financial responsibility that I wouldn’t be able to handle. The lower payments/ longer loan term plan we developed did that for me. Now, I just had to wait to see if the loan would be approved.

               I finally received a call from Shepherd’s Center informing me that I had been approved for the one-week driver’s training! Before the week-long training, I had to go in for an initial evaluation, to determine what modifications I would need. Once that was completed, I was all set and ready to go for the one- week training!

               This one-week training was intense! During the training, I was driving a vehicle that was already modified to my needs. The passenger side had the gas and brakes function as well. That allowed the evaluator to have access to those functions while I was practicing driving. The instructor and I met every day at 8AM, drove all day, took a break for lunch, and did it all over again until 5pm. I learned to parallel park, back in and out of parking spots, ect.  The purpose of this intensive driving course was for me to become comfortable with driving this type of modified vehicle.

At the end of the week, a driver’s license test was scheduled at our local DMV. I remember being so nervous that I wouldn’t pass the test and would have to go through his process all over again. A lot was a stake. I passed the test on my first try! My parents and my sister were there for the encouragement! It was such a joyous moment for not only me, but us as a family! 

The final part of this blog series will be posted on Monday, May 2nd, 5:00pm. 

                                    See you soon! 

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