Permission To Drive

🎉 🎉 🎉

During today’s clinic appointment, I met with one of the transplant surgeons. He actually met with my sister for the pre-op and post-op consultations, and was present in the OR during her surgery. I asked him when I could resume driving, since I am basically trapped at home if I cannot drive. He asked if I was taking any pain medications. I was prescribed oxycodone at discharge, but I have not taken any yet. The incision pain has been very manageable; I have not even taken Tylenol for any post-surgery pain. He then told me to hold out my arms and asked if I experienced any shaking or tremors. I think it is one of the side effects of tacrolimus. Finally, he asked if I could apply pressure to the brake pedal without any pain. I joked that my Tesla could drive itself, but with TACC (traffic aware cruise control), the car does a pretty good job braking and accelerating with traffic. I just need to watch out for traffic lights and stop signs.

Anyway, he said it was okay for me to drive so for the next clinic appointment this Friday, I am going to drive my car instead of asking my dad for a ride. This is a huge step for me. I remember one of the anxiety factors during heart surgery recovery was being unable to drive for 6-8 weeks. I believe I received approve to drive after about six weeks but it was an excruciatingly long wait. For me, being able to drive again is the first step towards a return to normalcy.