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When You Can’t Drive After A Stroke

Suffering from a stroke is serious with consequences that can often be life-altering. However, advances in medicine have made it also a medical condition from which it is possible to recover to the extent that the patient is able to resume normal activities in a reasonably short period of time. However, there are several precautions that need to be taken during the recovery period and not driving is one of them.



Why You Should Not Drive

Driving, no matter how comfortable you are doing it, is a strain, both physical and mental. This is not something you should be subjected to while recovering from a stroke. In addition, the stroke could leave you with the following factors that could affect your ability to drive safely:
  • Vision problems including difficulty in judging distances
  • Confusion about road rules
  • Fluctuating ability to focus and concentrate
  • Slower reactions
  • Possibility of dizzy spells or blackouts
  • General physical and sensory debility
These are issues that will fade away over time, with the right care and medication. In most cases, the patient will be able to resume driving with complete safety, once approved by the doctor.

The typical time before resuming driving is about 4 weeks, but this will vary from case to case. Once the doctor’s clearance has been obtained, and the medical certificate confirming the ability to drive safely has been issued, it is still important to check with the DMV to know if there are any restrictions on driving or any formalities, assessments, and checkups that have to be completed.

Transportation Problems

Unless the doctor has advised bed rest or staying at home after returning from the hospital, a person recovering from a stroke should be able to leave the house for medical appointments, social visits, and light domestic chores. The problem is in being transported to the place that he has to go to. Waiting for a taxi is a huge hassle when recovering from a stroke. Using buses or subways can be too much of a physical strain. Expecting friends and relatives to be a personal limo service is both embarrassing and unreasonable, but staying stuck at home after being medically cleared to go out is frustrating and that is not something that will help in the recovery process. It is here that Non-Emergency Medical Transportation (NEMT) offers the solution.

What NEMT Does

As the name says, NEMT is a service that provides transportation to those who have medical conditions that prevent them from driving themselves. NEMT should not be confused with an ambulance service which is meant only for emergency medical transportation. NEMT can be used for any purpose from going to the doctor, visiting the library, social visits, routine chores, going to special events and so on. A NEMT company will have specially equipped vehicles for those who may need to use wheelchairs or walkers. The best companies will offer services such as doorstep pickup, event standby and more. The drivers will be specially trained to transport those with medical conditions.

Being able to go out and be active, with medical approval, can help the recovery process and enable a patient to return to normal activities quickly. If you are recovering from a stroke or other medical condition that prohibits you from driving, use the services provided by a NEMT company to stay mobile and begin your return to normal life.
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