At 16, most kids have their eyes and hearts set on getting their driver’s licenses. I was no different. Even though I had CP (Cerebral Palsy), I had the same desires as my peers.
During the summer of 1965, I planned on taking Driver’s Ed; however, my life took a completely different twist and my dream had to sit on a back burner for eight long years, with no encouragement that it would ever be realized.
In April of that year, Mom saw an article in Life Magazine about a new surgery (cryosurgery) that was doing wonderful things for Parkinson’s and Dystonia patients. Wondering if it would help me, she contacted Saint Barnabas Hospital in the Bronx. In June, we went for an evaluation; we were given a glowing report. There was a 75% chance of improvement and a 25% risk.
We consented to have the brain operation in mid-July. I was awake throughout the one-hour procedure, but, in recovery, I went into a seven-hour coma, during which they thought they were going to lose me. My memories of that coma are frightening.
Obviously I survived, but the damage done caused many more physical challenges. The hardest one was losing the muscles on the left side of my body, similar to the results of a stroke. Since the right side overpowered the left in my neck, my head was pulled so far back it was impossible to see my shoes or even the ground. That made driving impossible, so that dream got ditched.
You’ll have to read my book, Steps of Faith: God’s Provision in Overcoming Adversity to discover the painful steps involved in bringing my head back down into the normal range, but the following is an excerpt from the chapter “You’re Crazy.”
In November of my junior year of college, I came home for Thanksgiving and a dear friend and I made plans to go to a mall. On the way, my friend, Nancy, stopped at a school parking lot and declared, “I want to know if you can drive.”
“Nancy, you are crazy! My brace is at school, in Long Island, and I AM NOT trying it without the brace.” We argued for a few minutes, and in frustration, Nancy got out, walked around the car and pushed me over to the driver’s side. Reluctantly, I took the wheel and tried.
If you recall, the brain operation had left me with poor-to-no head-control. Often my head would be stuck in an awkward “up” position. I longed to learn to drive, for the freedom it would give me. The summer before, I had asked a brace maker to design a brace to hold my head so I could learn to drive. This contraption fit around my torso and had a bar going up behind the head, with another horizontal bar bracing the head. It was cumbersome, uncomfortable and ugly. I hid it under my bed. I had worn it some while living at home – but NEVER at school!
For forty-five minutes, I drove around the lot and knew that I knew I could drive. Now it was a matter of contacting the right people in the vocational agency that was putting me through college, to get driving lessons approved. My dream finally was realized eight years after having given up hope of ever driving. One side-effect of driving was that I gained more head control.
Back in the early 70s, it was unusual to see a disabled person drive. I got a kick out of watching jaws drop when I got behind the wheel. It was even funnier when a “normal” person got in the passenger seat and I got behind the wheel.
I’ve driven out west twice, driven down south, and have had many adventures in my car. On one such adventure, I lost my only set of car keys in Pennsylvania and, two days later, found them in Indiana! How did that happen? You’ll have to read the book to find out!
To hear how I started a store with 29 cents and many other stories, please look for my newly published book on Kindle.
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Kitty Marie Jones owned and operated a Christian bookstore for thirty-two years. Three years after retiring, she discovered a gift and passion for editing. She has been working for an online publisher in England, where her boss has stretched her in many areas. Recently, Kitty has been learning the mechanics of formatting books for publication, with the hope of offering help to authors who don’t want to take time learning how to format.
Steps of Faith: God’s Provision in Overcoming Adversity is available at My Book.
You can reach Kitty at Lovingtouchedits@gmail.com
Truly inspirational, Kitty, you are a real champion!