Yesterday I spent the day at Madonna doing my rehab therapies. We were up at 6:45 A.M., out the door by 7:45, and I was at my first appointment at 9:30. It was along day, as is usually the case. I was finally finished at 4:00 P.M., then a stop to pick up our online grocery order, an online fast food order, and on our way home. It was after 6:00 by the time we got home, and then there were groceries to bring in and put away, household tasks to do, and I was completely exhausted as is always the case after a day of therapy. I didn't let myself nap though, because then I'd not have been able to sleep at bedtime. Instead I wrote. But at the back of my mind, I was also thinking about the day and the therapies I'd attended.
I shared my concern that I had not driven since February 28th with my OT. She told me they had a driving simulator, and asked if I'd like to try that just to see how it felt to be behind the wheel again. I was eager to try it. But, I wasn't so excited when reality smacked me in the face.
It started out slowly, I was "driving" down a residential street. My only task was to drive 25 mph, using the gas pedal, and then to stop, using the brake pedal, each time I saw a stop sign. I didn't even have to steer. OK, easy enough, right? So you'd think. Each time I stopped, my perception was so far off that I was the equivalent of probably 20 feet back from the stop signs. I couldn't get the timing of braking and distance figured out.
Once that was over, I had a second "drive". This on was to see how I did with hazards along my route. I was both steering and in control of brakes and gas this time. I started out needing to go 45 mph. I immediately noticed that at that speed, the things in my peripheral vision were going by quickly, and I was almost instantly getting dizzy. However, then I moved on to a residential area where the speed limit dropped down to 25. That wasn't so bad. However, there were parked cars along the route, and I was finding it difficult to go out around them. I could't judge my distance, things began to get a little blurry and distorted, and I could tell I wasn't driving in a straight line. My reaction time wasn't great either. But I didn't crash, and I made it through the residential area without anything happening. The speed limit increased to 45 mph, and I was suddenly very dizzy. Concentrating on the road in front of me while things were rushing along in my side mirrors and peripheral view caused everything to start spinning. My OT immediately stopped the simulation, and had me just sit, do my breathing exercises, and get myself re-oriented with my surroundings.
We went to the Vision Room, and she showed me a vision exercise I will now be doing as part of my home program. It will help me to retrain my brain to use my peripheral vision without getting dizzy (hopefully). Between the dizziness and my delayed processing speed, driving is going to be a challenge...
But needless to say, I will not be getting behind the wheel of an actual vehicle for awhile yet...One more thing Covid has taken from me.
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