Driving Mrs. Ray: RLS Twitches and Why I Don't Drive

When I was in grade 8, I had just entered high school (side note: I'm Canadian). One of the things done in grade 8 is to give a little introduction to every elective class.

Through the rest of high school, you'd only get 1 or 2 elective classes; this was something like a language, drama class, or a skill like cooking, sewing, or woodwork. All the rest of the courses were mandatory that you take in high schools like English, social studies, and math.

Anywho, when I was doing the section on sewing, I thought I was going to have an easy time with it because my grandma is huge on sewing things by hand.

How my RLS caused a sewing disaster

The first day we were using the sewing machines, I had an accident because of my restless legs syndrome (RLS). While moving some fabric I was sewing, I had my foot hovering over the sewing machine pedal. I wasn't even aware of the RLS twitch, and it was just enough to have my foot go down on the pedal for a second and back up.

If you have a queasy stomach or don't like to read about other people's pain, skip to the next section.

That was enough to have the sewing needle go into my middle finger, which I did not feel at all. When I pulled my hand away from adjusting the fabric, the sewing needle broke free from the machine. I happened to catch a glimpse of something weird on my finger, and there was the sewing needle sticking out of my finger. I ended up having to go up to the hospital and, after several hours, had it removed.

RLS twitches make driving unsafe for me

Since then, I still periodically get random RLS twitches, sometimes small and sometimes violent. It is because of this – my random moments of feeling extremely faint and sometimes misjudging spaces when I walk, causing me to walk into walls – that I do not drive.

I am 34 and have only ever had a learner's license, the very first beginning stage of being able to drive. I don't feel like it is safe for me to drive.

How I manage my transportation

I know that my husband wishes I had my full driver's license for times like traveling, but he also understands my concerns about it. Not being able to drive can make things really challenging. I almost always have to depend on someone to give me a ride because transit is not affordable for me, and sometimes I'm too exhausted or in pain to walk.

I pretty much always have to schedule my appointments around my husband's work schedule, and that can be challenging, especially when they decide to change his schedule without notifying him about it. One of the nice things about COVID-19 is that a lot of the appointments I need can be done either over the phone or internet, so it doesn't matter what my husband's work schedule is.

I feel like if I didn't have my RLS twitches, I probably could have my full license.