The words above require repeating.

I simply HATE that you drive. You are what I consider a menace on the road. I wish there was a kind and polite way to tell you to stop. I am appalled that a woman of your intelligence would get behind the wheel of a car.

It is not even the potential damage you may do to your car, yourself or your parents. It is the potential damage and death you can cause to anyone or anything else in your path.

I cannot believe you and/or your parents think your needs are above property of someone else or the killing of an innocent in your way. Even at a slow rate of driving, you are a killing machine. It is criminal behavior. You okay with killing someone so that you can drive?

I voluntarily gave up driving when I was faced with the same challenges you are encountering. There for the grace of god go I.

Call your motor vehicle department and learn about the curb to curb service offered in your area. Taxis are more expensive but at least you do not run the risk of KILLING.

What needs to happen before you stop? What accident has to happen?

I do not ask this last question lightly. I really want to know what damage has to be done before you stop.

I voluntarily gave up driving, too, Cyn. I'd rather make the decision myself than have someone tell me I can't drive.

It's not an easy thing to do but I have family close by that helps me when I need it. We also have a medical transport van that can pick you up and take you to a doctor's appointment and bring you home. I've never used it but it's nice to know there are accommodations for those who have no help.

Me too Kelly. :hug:

The way I look at it is that I wouldn't want to be driving around someone like ME. :o

Plus the stress and anxiousness can't be good for my well being, either.

Once I got used to not driving I was fine. Now, I actually enjoy not having to worry about it. There's worse stuff that can happen. ;)

I do miss the mobility of my past life, the ability to just get up and go and no need to plan ahead for doctor appointments. I miss the times I would just head into the Sonoran Desert and drive through the National Park and look at the mammoth cacti. I miss being able to turn the radio on loud and sing to my favorite songs.

I miss being the one who gave others a ride when needed since I was the one with the car.

Now, I do not pay much attention to the road but rather the scenery along the way.

I remember vividly going to the Department of Motor Vehicles and watching an old gentleman crying when he was denied a renewal of his driver's license. I remember the frustration of being behind a person who was driving too slow, thinking how that driver had no business being on the road.

I read in the newspaper about an incompetent driver accidentally driving into the business front and the crash killing a patron inside. I have read about a driver accidentally driving into a home and the walls crushing a person inside.

I hope Erin is reading my words and hearing my heartfelt plea to sell the cars and use the money for curb to curb bus service or taxis. No more gas, car upkeep or insurance.

And anyone else with the remote anxiety of driving. Stop before you have to live with the reality that you should stop driving. MS is bad enough without the guilt of what you know has to be done.

I feel like I'm doing positive things.....like reducing my carbon footprint, reducing air pollution, reducing the crowding on the roads, reducing my stress ;) and helping make the roads a safer pace for others. Plus, I now have no car payment, no car insurance payment, no car upkeep and no gas to buy! :Rich:

I think about my kids, my daughter-in-law and my soon-to-be granddaughters. I definitely don't want someone with compromised driving abilities on the road with them. I would not want them on the road with someone like ME!!

When my son was a patrol officer on the road (he's inside the office now which makes Mom very happy :winky: ) he'd tell me about people involved in wrecks who really didn't need to be driving......and probably lost their driving privileges due to said accident. Such preventable disasters. :(

Even though I do agree with all of what you two are saying and chose to
quit driving myself, I don't like the preachy tone of this thread. Enough
said, I think.:confused:

Perhaps make the plea portion of this thread a sticky to keep it in at the
top of our minds. I'm sure there are others here who may be taking a
chance to drive, out of need or desire. I know that I had a few close calls,
before finally deciding that to stop driving, was the right thing to do.:eek:

Yes, the preachy part of this is starting to annoy me. None of you actually know me, and my situation. Don't assume that my situation is the same as yours.

I'm getting hand controls in a couple of weeks (would have been this week if the driving instructor hadn't canceled my appointment last week). I'm going to keep on driving.

I've been trying to get better, and get back to some way of having a normal life. I feel like all of my friends in real life have abandoned me. (I only had two) My parents are older and they're having a lot of health problems. I'm the only one here to help them. I have a sibling. When my dad was sick earlier this summer, and I hadn't started back to driving yet, you would think she would have offered to give me and my mom a ride to go see my dad in the hospital, or ask if we needed anything. Like food. She never once called us. Never offered to go shopping for us, or drive us to the store. She didn't even call to ask how my mom was doing. So, I have a feeling I won't be getting any help from her. Especially after my parents are gone. I have to get things figured out to where I can try to take care of my parents and myself on my own. So, giving up driving won't be happening.


Don't make this thread a sticky. I'll ask for it to be deleted then.

I wish you all the luck in this Erin. I understand your frustration in it. You are still a young person and confronted with an impossible situation.

I just had to put my dad in an ambulance because he woke up at 3am to go potty, and discovered that he couldn't see out of the lower part of his left eye.

Ended up calling an ambulance for him. I decided that an ambulance would be better for him, because if it's a stroke, the hospital would know that he's coming, AND he'd have a bunch of paramedics with him on the way there.

Didn't go with him because my stupid walker takes up so much freaking room. Was going to send my mom with him against my better judgement (not good to let her go alone, because she'll tell them wrong information for a lot of stuff). She couldn't climb up into the ambulance, so the paramedics left her here.

my aunt (the nurse) said it was probably better that we didn't go up there because if he is having a stroke, they'd be doing all sorts of scans on him, and we'd just be stuck in the waiting room. And that's not very comfortable. I'm going to wait till later this morning, then I'll go up there with my mom in a taxi.

I'll be taking the taxi because that hospital is at the limit distance that I'm comfortable driving. I'll end up having to walk around up there at the hospital. Which means I would be too tired to drive home. Even tho they have valet parking, I don't want to have to deal with walking from the front door of the hospital down to the ER if I'd followed them up there. (valet parking isn't open yet anyways)

So all of you who were preaching that I shouldn't be driving. Happy? I know when I should not be driving.

Edit

He didn't have a stroke

The ER called me. It's something called Central arterial occlusion.