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6:00p
What a day.

Don’t you hate when people say “What a day” and then change the subject without explaining the “What a day” comment. How mean is that? “What a day” could mean that it was a bad day or it could mean that it was a good day.

In my case, it means . . . “What a day!”

It was a bad day and then it was a good day and then it was bad and then good. It was a Day.

I woke for the last time at 6:30 whining in pain. It was the drains coming from my new tushie that cause the whining. The drains had shifted and parts that were not visible before were sticking through the skin making my already sore tail hard to wag.

It was time to make the coffee and wake the kids for their last day of school in Lincoln City. I hate it that they are changing schools again. But they are taking it in stride. I got them up and Dan took over as I fell back into my bed.

Once again last night I woke up about once an hour in a frozen sweat. It takes two or three sets of pajamas to make it through the night. I found a spot that didn’t involve the tubes in my butt and fell back asleep.

AT 8:30, Dan came in and woke me. He had dropped the kids and said audios to the job that had held us here all this time. “They” weren’t happy, but it was resolved never the less. The two of us got busy making the Motorhome ready to roll. Roll first to the mechanic’s shop.

Just the thought of how much this bill could be made my butt hurt even more. We put in a call to the University for the team that worked on the flap to call us back. We might need some reinforcement. When they called back, Dan told them about the drains and how it was hurting me and she said she would call the local ER and let them know what to do to pull out any that were A) coming out on their own, AND B) putting out less than 20 ml of fluid a day. Ok Fine. Be there in a bit.

First the mechanic’s shop. The man gets in for a test drive. He was zooming around in my HOUSE! Slow down buddy! I was wondering what the insurance line was on mechanics taking joy rides in your RV?

“I think there is a bad cylinder. It doesn’t seem to be firing on all 8.”

Now “mechanic” is another language I don’t speak, but that sounded expensive. My hunch and the look on Dan’s face made it feel expensive too. “How much is that, Dan?” “Well over a grand just for that. . . The labor goes up . . . It would be bad, Treese.”

Oh no! No bad cylinders for us. I laid my hands on the side of that whale and started to pray for its redemption from the bad cylinder, what ever that meant. I prayed, “Please, Lord, you know how much we have, and you know how much we need to get to Florida. We can’t afford a bad cylinder.”

With the prayer prayed there was nothing more for me to do. I went back to the car and laid the seat down all the way and tried to get a nap. I waited. I called Dan on the phone, “Did you tell him our story? Use the ‘C’ Card if you have too.” Who could over charge a man trying to get his wife across the country to have cancer treatments? . . . I tried to sleep. I tried to read. I ended up praying some more. When Dan came back to the car he had a different look on his face.

“He told me again that he thought it was a bad cylinder. Then he put a tester on it and no! It wasn’t bad. It was firing on all 8 cylinders! “

Go God!

“He said he could get it tuned up for under $500!”
“You’ve got to be kidding me!”
“And the muffler man (who has a shop next door) looked at the exhaust system and says he can replace the muffler for $90! Under $600! Treese!”

Oh, one of these days my head is gonna roll off my head when I shake it. Another thing falling into place. They do have to keep the motorhome overnight to get it done. That is to be expected. It’s normal even. It’s just that this vehicle is our home too. That means a hotel for the night. Off season. Shouldn’t be too much.

First the trip to the ER to be de-borged. I should tell you that I hate this hospital. Oh, it’s a nice enough hospital for a small town, it’s just that this is where this all started. This ER. In fact the same ER Doctor.

“Do you remember me?”
“You look familiar.”
“On June 2nd, I came in here and you thought I had a cyst. You sliced it open and started pushing it. You called all the nurses in to watch.”
“Oh, yes. I do remember.”
“Yes. It turned out that it was a rare sarcoma. It turned into this.”
“Hmmm.”

And he pulled out the drains and his nurse bandaged up the holes and we were on our way. I just wanted to go home! But my home and my bed were at the mechanics! It was 2:15 and the kids get out of school at 2:50. I waited in the car while Dan went in for them.

Another “Last Day at this School.” They were loaded down with cards and wishes for a safe trip. What they didn’t have was clothes for the night and tomorrow. We drove to the mechanics shop and loaded ourselves down with things. And set out for a hotel for the night. The forth or fifth spot was a keeper. A small suite off season. The bedroom has two beds and the living room has a Murphy bed. Just perfect. As long as the guy gets the motorhome fixed by check-out time. I spent the whole day in the car or worse. I am looking forward to stretching out.

The next few days will be spent getting ready for the final jump. Tomorrow will be waiting for the RV to get fixed. Depending on when the repairs are completed, we will either get the tires and shocks done in Lincoln in the morning or in Portland Friday. I need to check in with the Doctors at OHSU sometime on Friday for a last check over. And then we will park in Denny’s driveway for the weekend making sure that everything is stowed and secured. We should pull away from Portland Sunday or Monday. My first appointment with the new Doctor at the hospital in Florida is November 9th. Plenty of time as long as everything goes well.

Dan and I want to thank you for standing by us. For Praying for us. And for supporting us. We will continue to pray for you forever.

And pay it forward.

Love to You and Yours
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