I knew I'd find this thread if I looked hard enough....it's been nearly 2 years, and a helluva lot's happened.
In March 2015, I parted ways with Soar Aviation in order to get back into drafting full-time and make some money. To say the parting was on good terms would be a lie, but that's where I'll leave it..
In July 2015, I started my Cert IV in Training and Assessment, and on August 18 I finished my spinning endorsement. This was to be the precursor to getting my GA instructor rating, but fate had other plans..
On August 27, 2015, I suffered a Basal Ganglia Hemorrhage - a stroke. I was in hospital within an hour of it happening, and was discharged 3 days later. I had no need of medication, nor rehabilitation - in fact, within 24 hours, I was almost back to my normal self. I "surrendered" my driver's licence for a month, but that's about it. I was back at work as soon as I was discharged from hospital, although working from home made this much easier. I missed one day of uni, and that was the day I had the stroke. Subsequently, I went on to get my Cert IV. I made a full - and I mean full - recovery. There's no evidence of me ever having a stroke in my brain. My neurologists, one of whom is the head of stroke research in Australia, both believe this is a once-off event. But they didn't figure on CASA......
AVMED initially suspended, then cancelled both my Class 1 and Class 2 medicals, and I had to wait 12 months to reapply, which is standard procedure with a stroke. When my medicals were cancelled, I received a phone call from CASA's doctor telling me that I'd be able to get a Class 2 back no problem, but I'd have a restriction on my Class 1.
When I reapplied, I made sure to get an up to date neurologist's report to submit with my application. True to form, CASA emailed me back, asking for more information in the form of an operational check, which was basically a check flight with a CFI. No problem there....it was a doddle!
So last week, I received an email from CASA telling me I could submit further evidence, or I could accept a permanent restriction on both my Class 1 and Class 2 medicals. Basically, I'll never fly solo again, except in a recreational aircraft.
It's not quite over, but it's looking like the Administrative Appeals Tribunal will be my last hope. And that's expensive.