One Student I Will Never Forget – Abisola’s Story

Back in 2012, I met a student named Abisola in Essex, where she began taking automatic driving lessons with me along the Goodmayes test routes. On the first lesson, as always, I asked if she had any medical conditions I needed to know about. She said no. But after a few hours of lessons, something felt unusual.

She was keen and willing to learn, yet she kept forgetting almost everything from the previous session. We found ourselves restarting from the beginning—move off, mirrors, routines, junctions—but this time I broke everything into shorter stages: listen, understand, do.

After noticing the repeated pattern, I gently asked if something was affecting her memory, and whether there was any way I could support her. That’s when she opened up: she had a blood-related disorder which required a full blood transfusion every four weeks. Around the time of each transfusion, her memory would become noticeably weaker.

She told me five instructors had dropped her in the past. She looked at me and asked, “Please don’t drop me too. I really want my licence so I can start my own business.”
So we made a plan. Every lesson, we wrote everything in a notebook—each routine, each new skill, her faults, and the improvements she was making. She took that notebook with her to the hospital during every transfusion and used it to recap the lessons. And it worked.

She began remembering things—not perfectly at first, but far better than before. Week after week, month after month, her confidence grew. We continued this system faithfully for nine months.
Then came test day at Goodmayes. She passed first time. One fault. A result most instructors only dream of seeing.

Outcome: Months later, I met her again. She had started her business—exactly what she had hoped for. But the best news of all: she no longer needed full blood transfusions. Even now, her story stays with me.
In every instructor’s life, there are students you never forget.
For me, Abisola is one of them.

I am driving instructor ADI Nimish Patel about Abisola

Area I cover for driving lessons are: Goodmayes – Upminster to Ockendon Essex. Please call 07906 836676