Grateful Hands Blog

  Now, I am entering my senior year of college. After obtaining my driver’s license, it seemed like everything started falling into place! Once my family and I started reaching out to insurance companies inquiring about insurance policies, Voc Rehab told us that the required insurance was not the same as typical insurance. I couldn’t just be added onto my parents’ current policy. The policy had to be broken down and itemized to show that it would cover the $50,000 worth of modifications. Noone had ever explained this to us, this was another obstacle in my driving journey. I reached out a friend from high school, Aliyah, who worked at a local State Farm Insurance company. I explained to her what I needed and what Voc Rehab was asking for. It took a few weeks, but she was able to provide the coverage and itemized breakdown showing the policy covering the modifications. She was able to get me exactly what I needed to move forward with the process. Once I was approved for the loan ...

       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 ...

  Some time had passed we went to the DMV to obtain my license. Due to that disappointing experience, I hadn’t done anything else pertaining to getting my license. I was still unsure on where to go from there. I still had the desire and dream to drive and was thrilled with the independence that driving would create for me. While I was approaching my senior year of high school, there was a program at my school offering work-based learning. This program allowed students to attend school part of the day and work the other part. I knew I wanted to participate in the program, but I knew finding a job I could physically do would be sort of difficult. In my job search, I was introduced to an organization, Parents Educating Parents and Professionals, PEPP. PEPP, Inc. The organization is a nonprofit 501c3, that was founded to work on civil rights issues for disability legislation, inclusion in community, the right to work, and educational advocacy for 26 years. I knew that based on its ...

Today marks 4 years, to the date, that I signed the papers purchasing my modified van. It was it a joyous occasion for our entire household! This modified van was going to change all of our lives and make things a lot easier. While this was a proud day, the journey to get here was not easy. As I reflect on my journey, I can’t help but think about the others who may be experiencing the same difficultly and feel like there is no light at the end of the tunnel. Well, I am here to let you know there is. I always knew I wanted the independence and freedom of driving, I just didn’t know how to go about it. I would practice driving in my parents’ car, using my legs to operate the gas and brakes. With Osteogenesis Imperfecta, a bone condition, I knew driving this way would be a short-term remedy, because my legs would eventually tire out. When I was a junior in high school, like every teen in that stage of their life, I was excited about getting my driver’s permit. My parents and I had tal...