Driving Assessment

Matt, Airene and myself went to Edmonton for Matt's driving assessment at the Glenrose Rehabilitation Center on Wednesday. It was quite interesting. First the occupational therapist determines the level of movement and strength Matt has. She made him to numerous movements with his right hand and arm and was very impressed with his right side and will need little to no modification for the steering wheel. However it is important for Matt to be able to move his left more because that is the side used to control the gas and brake. So a few suggestions for that,such as Botox in the tricep of the left arm (when he straightens his arm, he can't bend it again), private physiotherapist that can work specifically with the muscle groups needed, and going to Edmonton's Shopper's Home Health Center to see what other modification instruments they have. If this doesn't work, then we would need to look into getting a electronic machine which runs at $80,000 (without the vehicle!). There is little to no funding available for this unless it is for driving to and from work. Does not include going to school. Matt is going to contact Great West Life to see if they can help at all. However Matt was extremely sore in his left arm after the assessment so he would have to do serious work outs to strengthen it enough to be able to drive for more than 2 feet! So some things to think about.
They also did an assessment on hand eye coordination and Matt scored mid to high on the non disabled scale, so that was definitely no problem. He needed to draw with a pencil from 1 to A, 2 to B, 3 to C and so on. The numbers and letters were all mixed up and I couldn't remember which number went with what letter! But Matt did it in 67 secs, needed to get under 160 secs! I would have failed!
After the assessment we went to Ikea for some things. Ended up being there for over 1 1/2 hours because Matt kept getting us lost! And of course the more lost he became the faster he drove his wheelchair. Airene and I were running to keep up!! But overall it was a great day, but tiring. Matt is so much fun to travel with because he is so funny. He gets that from me!! I think!
Today the girls are going with Grandma and Matt to Jacki and Gary's and John and I are going to Banff for a conference. So everyone one have a Blessed Easter holiday and thank God for all your blessings!