Dream to Drive

It's always been a huge dream of mine to be able to drive where I want to go instead of having to plan what I do around public transportation. I started the process a few years ago but ended up getting frustrated with the vehicle they made me learn to drive with, which was a full size van with a raised roof. I had to transfer onto the drivers seat and be propped up with pillows to even see over the dash board. After completing the course and finding out that I wasn't progressing as well as hoped (due to being so uncomfortable) and needed more classes and may have to pay for them I then decided to put my dream on the back burner until a later date.

Recently I have been doing research to figure out what is available for me to drive and have even visited an accessible van dealer to see what they think I'll need to be able to drive. I have learned alot from this research and armed with this knowledge and support from friends and family I finally feel ready to tackle my dream again.

First step in my "Dream to Drive" quest is going to the Philadelphia Office of Vocational Rehabilitation (OVR) to get assistance with the driving training as well as finding out if they'd be able to assist me with the cost of the van modifications, which could be over $100,000 easily. Once I find out how they'd be able to help me, I then need to make an appointment to be evaluated to find out exactly what equipment works best for me and then begin driving training using that equipment. After passing the driving course I then start the process of acquiring a van. I will need to pay for the base price of the van on my own, but hopefully OVR will cover most if not all of the conversions.

The road is going to be a long one and filled with alot of red tape, but this time around I refuse to let that get in my way!