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| Rebecca Dutton Home After a Stroke |
Problem. I used a flip phone for years so I could call AAA if my car broke down, but a trip last year to see my brother showed me I need a smart phone. When I got to my destination the temperature gauge showed my engine was very hot. I knew the area so I drove to the local Toyota dealer which was closed because it was Sunday. If I had a smart phone I would have learned that a taxi service was only two miles away. I could have left my car at the dealer, had a taxi take me back to my hotel, and waited for my brother to arrive the next day. My brother talked about loaner cars, but they do not have the modification that lets me control the gas pedal with my good left foot. I decided to buy a smart phone before I took my next long trip.
Training. It is a good thing I bought an iPhone several months in advance. This gave me time to attend free training sessions held by Verizon. For example, there are multiple ways to delete items in Contacts, Messages, Calendar, Notes, and Photos. To delete you touch a picture of a trash can at the bottom left or bottom right OR touch the word delete at the bottom right, bottom center, top right, or right side of the screen. To make the word delete appear, you may have to touch the word edit, pull an entry to the left, or scroll to the bottom of a file. The chaos during staff meetings at Apple must be remarkable. I also needed several months to learn how to use Google and Google maps because using them on an iPhone is different from using them on a computer. I finally felt comfortable using Google Maps so I was thinking of leaving my Garmin GPS at home until I could not get cell phone reception in a small town near my home.
Outcome. Going - IF I had used the Weather Channel app while I ate lunch on my 1st day of travel I would have seen an alert that said the rain storm had flash flood warnings. Instead I got into my car. The storm delivered such heavy rain that I could not see the car in front of me. I could have waited out the storm in a McDonald's instead of on the side of the road. Visiting - My brother and I texted repeatedly so we could meet at his boat and go out to dinner. Texting with the Siri voice command on a iPhone is so much easier than texting one-handed on a flip phone. Coming home - When a severe storm slammed onto my hotel, I used Google maps to change my route home, Google to locate new hotels, and the phone function to cancel old and make new hotel reservations.
Bottom Line. A smart phone is an essential adaptive device for stroke survivors who travel.
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