This was certainly the outlook for 84-year-old Patricia Fitzgerald, of Lalor Park, with her 85th birthday approaching.
In NSW, drivers wanting to keep their unrestricted driver’s licence must do a practical driving test at age 85, and then every two years, in addition to a yearly medical assessment.
For many older people, 85 is a birthday they dread.
Transport for NSW figures show as of September 2024, there were 480,000 people aged over 75 still on the road with 41,000 having restricted licences. About 82,000 people over the age of 85 were still driving.
Patricia’s battle to keep her licence, and the HammondCare At Home team’s support to build her confidence, is one of many positive stories of care in the HammondCare Annual Report 2024.
Patricia’s continued use of her beloved grey Honda CRV, acquired during the pandemic, was important to maintaining quality of life.
“For me losing my licence meant catching buses, including getting my groceries on the bus,” Patricia said.
Her voluntary work as a verger at All Saints Anglican Church, North Parramatta, where she regularly attends and is available to help with flowers, weddings and funerals suddenly would be very difficult.
“Anything that needs doing, I’m available – but getting there by bus would take hours,” she said.
Patricia also feared the end of her continuing relationship with a cousin she had only just renewed contact with across the city at Belmore.
“I only just met my cousin for the first time recently, after I discovered we had the same great grandparents. I looked him up in the phone book, as part of my ancestry research,” she said.
Home care providers deliver a range of services to support people to live independently at home.
On this occasion, the HammondCare At Home team, led by care manager Heather Kimani, realised Patricia needed support to get through her driving test.
Pastoral Care Co-ordinator Carolyn Altman, a member of Patricia’s care team, realised something was wrong when they spoke before her 85th birthday.
Patricia said she was losing sleep and anxious with her practical test looming.
To ease her fears, Carolyn took the approach of breaking down each specific worry Patricia had about her driving test, and then together they worked through each one. One fear was she would not hear instructions clearly.
“I made sure her hearing aids would be charged and ready. I was able to reassure her that even if she did not pass, she would have other opportunities – it would not be the end of it,” Carolyn said.
Patricia passed the test with a requirement she stay within 100kms from home and avoid night driving. Patricia declared she’d had the best sleep in weeks.
She was grateful for the support of the pastoral care team. “What they did was give me the confidence to go through with the test.”
