I love purple! Yesterday the phase of my therapies ended. Finally I thought I'd done it! successfully completed the drivers tests. BUT - always the infamour buts in life - I got a 99% which would be super in any other venue of life. The 1% has sent me to a professional driver instrutor.

I am a bilateral strokes survivor. First the right side then the left. Since I have always been heavily right sided, it is normal for my right brain has often simply taken over for the left. This last stroke, the right brain, has caused me to be what they call "severly left deficiant" meaning I am not always aware of the things on my left.

In doing the driving test one test involved hazards. I do fine with the right side - as in a car pulling in front of me or someone standing in the street. Since I knew the left was of concern I tried to focus on it however, It took two to get the right side of my brain to interpret what I saw.

The way it was explained - my brain sees just fine but the right side shuts out the left. The 2 hazards would have wiped me out and anyone driving with me - 2 cars crossing over into my lane. ARGG

So, once again feeling like a failure and despairing until I reminded myself several times that 99% is darn good. I decided that one thing I have really learned in life it is to pick myself up, dust myself off and keep going. If I need to take that hour of instruction once 10 times or 100 times I will safely drive again!!

Know what dearest journal I am alive! Coming smack face to face with death twice in one month makes me feel so much more alive than ever before