Updates

This is where I will post updates on what is going on with me and my new adventure. I hope that this will be an easier way to keep everyone up to date on things.

May 1, 2008 - It has been approved!! Yes, you read it right... the XWAV has been approved in Texas! Right now I am just waiting for an appointment with my case worker so I can figure out where to go from here! I will be sure to update about it as soon as I can!

Mar. 10, 2008 - Well it is a new year with new goals! I am happy to say that the final tests have been completed and now I am waiting for the approval process to move forward. They told me it should be a couple weeks or so. So hopefully by April things will have been approved and I will be able to take the next step! As always, you'll know when I know!

Sept. 8, 2007 - Wow! I didnt notice it had been so long since I updated. Needless to say I have been rather frustrated! Things still are not complete. I finally had a call into the engineer at FMI and kind of figured out where things were going wrong. They faxed the papers Texas needs into the wrong place! This was in April. For some reason wires got mixed and no one knew they were going to the wrong place. So as of Friday, the 7th, FMI faxed the papers Texas need to the RIGHT place. Hopefully I will find out next week what the next step will be. This stupid faxing of the papers was what was holding everything up! So maybe, just maybe, things will move at a more rapid pace now that the ball is rolling in the directions. I will be sure to let you all know!
As for donations, no worries! All the money that has been donated is still safely sitting in an account earning interest! I havent run off and left with your donations! Thanks again for all you have given!

Jan. 11, 2007 - Just a quick update to let you all know that the X-WAV is finally in Texas going through the final test! I will be sure to update when I hear anything new! Maybe this will get done afterall! Keep your fingers crossed!

Nov. 8, 2006 - *sigh* The wait continues. Good things come in due time. I never really know what is going on for sure. It only seems as if I get the run around and new excuses everytime I check in on things. The X-WAV has still not made it to Texas. The last I heard was that they had to convert a new one to send down. I have no idea why and I have no idea why it has taken almost 3 months for FMI to figure this out and finally start doing it. *sigh*

A large piece of my anger now is that the 2007 models are in now and have gone up in price. They have done away with the color I want... at the rate things are going I wont be able to find a new 2006 model that I want. So I will have to pay more and get a color I didn't want 100%.

I won't give up! I can't give up! Not after all of this. I only regret that by the time I reach my one year mark for having a license, the only thing I have 'gained' is new harassment from insurance companies wanting to pick me up (they don't know I don't have a car!) and that I am now in the jury pool and am bound to be summoned again! I haven't driven since the day I passed my test. I just don't think it is fair to be pulled out this long. Texas is the only state that requires this test, that in the long run has NOTHING to do with the vehicle I will receive... Ah I will stop now before my rantings turn into a novel.

I will have my car someday... it's just taking some patience and faith. Thanks to all of you for your continued support!

Sept. 15, 2006 - Well my patience is growing thin. Three weeks ago FMI was supposed to ship an X-WAV to a dealer in Texas so that they can run a test that was not complete. Obviously it still has not been shipped. Once they do ship it, the test can be run and hopefully things will move much quicker. I try to tell myself at least all this waiting is allowing me more time to get funds raised... but I have had my license for 6 months now and still have no car! So yes, I am getting irritated. I have fought for too long now to just give up though. Please keep up the support and the prayers. This waiting game has to end sometime!

July 8, 2006 - No I have not fallen off the Earth. I have been trying to wait to make an update until something final had been done, but I am still waiting! Progress is being made though. There was a bit of confusion going on with everything but after being very persistant everyone is on the same page now! All the tests are complete and awaiting approval from Texas. I will make some phone calls next week to see if I can find out anything new. This waiting game really is hard! But I have faith and this will be over with soon! Thank you for your continued support!

April 17, 2006 - I just got word that the last test the Element needs in order to pass Texas inspection was approved. Hopefully within 30 days the test will be complete! I will update when I find out that it is indeed finished! *Fingers crossed*

March 31, 2006 - I DID IT!! I had my last training hours this past week. I went in today and took my test and I passed! Whoo hoo! Now I just have to wait for the Element to be approved in Texas (Yes I am STILL waiting on that) and once it is approved, I can do my hard core fundraising! I officially have my license, so now I just need the car! Let the count down begin!

Feb. 7, 2006 - Okay so I finished another week of training. All in all we had a very successful week. I have now gotten up to 45 mph on some of our main roads. I have attached some new pictures on my goal page. They include the new wheel and steering handle I am using.

I have contacted a couple people who have put the IDS in an Element so things are looking good for that part. Sometime this month I should know for sure if the steering effort is going to go low enough on the E for me. Still waiting for Texas to approve the E though.

As of now I am just waiting on approval for another 20 hours of training. After that is approved I can schedule more driving time. And with any luck, after that I will get my driver's license! Highway driving is my last step!

I will update again when I get more information!!

Jan. 27, 2006 - Whoo hoo! Today I reached my initial downpayment goal of $5,000 raised! Thanks so much to each and every one of you for your kind donations!

I am still waiting for the Element to be approved in Texas, but it looks like it is getting close! I also start another round of training next week! I will update again after I finish that week's training.

Jan. 17, 2006 - Things went well in Houston this past weekend! I spent three hours working on a modified handle, but I think we got what is going to work! I drove for about an hour after getting the handle made and things went well. The next morning we went out again and things were good! We drove for about two hours or so and saw a major improvement from what we had been seeing. I got up to 30 mph on some main roads and took turns at a comfortable speed. I even practiced some parallel parking and did pretty good! I didn't hit the poles at least!

We are going to set up some more training time and see if we can keep things going. We have run into some possible vehicle problems as well. But hopefully it will be something that we don't have to worry about. If for some reason I cannot get the Element that I want so much, all donations will go toward another vehicle that may better my situation. Only time will tell. I'll update again when I start training again!

Jan. 9, 2006 - Well I started my re-eval on Saturday the 7th of Jan. It seemed to go great and he approved me to start my driver's training. Sunday morning we got in the car ready to go and I could NOT get it to work! We fiddled with it and became really frustrated. Finally we decided to take a break and try again in a few hours. So a few hours later we try again and it works! We even made a few alterations and it worked even better! I went out on a few main roads (30mph) and did pretty good. We finally thought we had it figured out! So this morning, Monday, we started again... SAME problem! After a lot of contimplation and testing, we figured it WAS the CAR and NOT me that was having the problem. So that was a relief. BUT it was still a pain! The cold mornings were causing the steering wheel to tighten up too much for me to steer.

So we figured hey, lets try something new all together. So we put on a bigger wheel. At first we didn't think it would work at all, but it did! Only thing was that we thought I needed a different type of handle on the wheel. SO I said, lets quit for now. Friday I am going to go to Houston and meet one of his techs and he is going to custom build me a handle. Then we are going to try that and see if it works. We are thinking it should! If not, I will either have to give up on the whole idea of driving, or fight to get a different system in my vehicle, which will not work with the Element (it would be a regular van). So for now all I can say is you will have to wait till I get back from Houston this weekend to hear the verdict! Wish me luck!!!

Nov. 29, 2005 - I bet you guys thought I vanished!!! Things have been crazy around here. My brother is preparing to go back to Iraq this week, so that has been a huge headache. I was just told that all the paperwork for my re-eval has been submitted so now I am just waiting for a new driving date. I will post when I find out when it is. This is a long process! There have been no new donations this month, so that is kind of sad, but I want to thank each of you who have taken the time to drop me a note or donate in the past. I appreciate it all! Okay, that is it for now! More news soon I hope!

Oct. 20, 2005 - My wheelchair modifications are finally in and on my chair! Now I am just waiting for my re-eval to be scheduled. I will let you all know when as soon as I know!

Sept. 14, 2005 - From NOW until the end of Sept, 10% of all online donations made to I4A will be sent to the Red Cross for Katrina victims. You can help me and someone else all in one donation!

Aug. 31, 2005 - My wheelchair guy came and tried out a lateral support and showed me my options for both that and a head rest. After only a few minutes, we knew what we needed and he put the order in! I hope to have my new mods by the middle of Sept!

Aug. 23, 2005 - I got to drive!! Whoo hoo! I spent 5.5 hrs behind the wheel of a vehicle and actually drove it. No I did not wreck either! Plus the driving instructor has a break on his side just to keep us safe in case I did anything stupid! It went well but before I can officially pass my eval I have to have some work done on my chair. I need a lateral support (side support) on my left side and a head rest. This is all for my own protection and to give me more stability when driving. Due to the way I sit in my chair, I tended to fall to the left when making sharp right turns. This issue has to be fixed before I can be deemed as a safe driver. After my mods are done I can schedule another evaluation. Hopefully that will be within the next month or so. But yeah, it was great to finally be able to drive something bigger than my wheelchair! I can't wait to do it again.

Aug. 16, 2005 - An FMI representative came down from Michigan with an X-WAV! I finally got a chance to see the vehicle up close and even to get in it. I was able to test out the buttons to be sure that they were something that I could work on my own. They were! I got to pull into the driver's side to see what it would feel like to finally be in that position! I felt extremely short, but according to other E drivers, that is part of owning an E... feeling TINY! But yes I can see over the dash! Overall it was a great experience and I cannot wait to get in one again! (see goal page for pictures.)