TranslateOT Week - Terry Murphy's road to recovery and reengagement!
27 October 2020
It's OT Week!
At Indigo we love any opportunity to highlight the many wonderful ways our dedicated OTs have worked with individuals to Rebuild, Recover and Reengage!
Our OT Driver Assessor, Jen Blaxill shares Terry Murphy's story of recovery and reengagement and how she worked with him to get back behind the wheel.
“Think of any vehicle, and Terry has probably driven it! From bulldozers and trucks to forklifts, Terry has been behind the wheel of a wide variety of vehicles in his lifetime.
I met Terry when he came to Indigo to complete an Occupational Therapy Driver Assessment in June 2020, following a resection of a brain tumour three years ago.
Terry has worked hard over the last three years to regain as much functional mobility as possible, and agreed with his doctor he was in good shape health-wise to look at a return to driving.
Experiencing weakness and reduced function in his right leg, Terry was seeking further advice in achieving his goal of getting back on road.
As a Driver Trained Occupational Therapist, I assessed Terry and recommended he return to driving with the use of vehicle modifications – namely a left foot accelerator. He took to the left foot accelerator like a duck to water.
Terry completed driver rehabilitation lessons and passed his Practical Driving Assessment to have the vehicle modifications endorsed on his licence.
I was able to support Terry to access funding for the rehabilitation lessons and getting a folding left foot accelerator installed in his current vehicle.
Terry is now back volunteering with the Marine Rescue Two Rocks and driving all over his local area.
