After a netball injury, Virginia Groves of Ashburton needed Anterior Crucial Ligament (ACL) surgery. Scheduled for August, it couldn’t have come at a more inconvenient time.
Ah, the joys of netball. One being the ever-present risk of injury. For Virginia Groves, it resulted in the need for an ACL reconstruction. Problem being, the operation she was anxiously waiting for was scheduled in August. On a dairy farm such as the one she ran with her husband, about 25 minutes outside Ashburton, it’s hard to think of a busier time of the year.
With her husband desperately needed on the farm, and two kids aged eight and ten to look after, Virginia began to worry about how she’d cope. Getting to and from the school bus stop; after-school activities; weekly physio, and gym in Ashburton every couple of days; not to mention post-op appointments with her surgeon an hour’s drive away in Timaru. It was all looking so hard. She also thought it would be just as hard to get what she needed–a hand controlled car–through ACC.
Enter Occupational Therapist and fairy godmother, Carmen. Carmen set Virginia’s mind at ease, advising she would recommend a hand-control car and successfully helping her through the process. Initially, it was thought the car would be needed for five weeks. But, in order to get back to bearing weight on both legs so as to drive her own car, it actually took seven.
Virginia’s great uncle was injured in a farm accident, ending up in a wheelchair with a hand-control car. “So I’d heard of them before,” says Virginia. “Even though I’m used to driving tractors, quads and various other vehicles around the farm, I was still a bit nervous about driving the hand-control car. But it only took a few minutes’ practice to realise it was super simple.”
We were also able to put Virginia’s mind at rest about the stipulations around modified cars for injuries or disabilities. Because you don’t have to bear any load on your injured leg, you can drive them soon after your injury provided you’re not on any medication that would impair your ability to drive. There’s no special licence required, and our driver instructors not only deliver the car, they ease you through some instruction that will ensure you’re confident using the controls. In fact, to drive your normal vehicle after surgery you will need to seek specific guidance from your surgeon or medical specialist to ensure it’s possible and not potentially harmful.
For Virginia, the Freedom Mobility-supplied vehicle proved a godsend. “After so many questions running through my mind like ‘how long after ACL surgery can I drive’, the whole experience was so positive,” she says. And the benefits just kept stacking up. “Not just the essentials with the children, but maintaining my own independence.” For Virginia, it far exceeded being a kind of taxi or Uber alternative. “It was great to be able to get stuff from town any time. And, it being such a busy time of the year on the farm, being able to be useful with picking things up. Visiting friends, visiting elderly family members, so much became possible. I only wish I’d applied for a disability parking permit though, because I needed to open the door up really wide and it was hard to find a park that let me do it.”
It was all quite a contrast to a good friend who injured his ankle. “His wife had to drive him everywhere,” says Virginia. “And with young children they had to pay for babysitters to come in and look after the kids so she could do it.” When they heard of her experience they said it would have been a lifesaver if only they had known what to do.
If you need to drive after knee surgery, or any injury that means driving a normal car isn’t possible, be sure to learn from Virginia’s experience. Talk about it with ACC, and get in touch with us for any help or information you need.
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