…With a Little Help From My Friends

My 14 year old Dodge Caravan has been seriously ill this week.  Even though she’s getting on in years, she seldom has health issues.  Only a few usually associated with the aging process.

She has lived a full life. She began as a soccer-mom vehicle and when she came to me at age 5 she was healthy and strong.  For the next five years she visited her health care provider only for wellness visits.  We traveled to Oklahoma, Texas and Tennessee many times. As well as to Branson, MO and several delightful towns in Arkansas – Hot Springs, Heber Springs, Eureka Springs to name a few.  If necessary she could find the Cabot Walmart on auto-pilot.

A few problems arose around her tenth birthday and over the last few years there have been transplants and prostheses – water pump, timing belt, power steering gizmo.  Eighteen months ago there was major surgery for a transmission issue.

Last Tuesday she suffered some sort of attack, became incontinent and lost a large amount of body fluid. She moaned and wailed pitifully as I gently brought her home from the Family Dollar, where she had become ill.

I was devastated. Surely this must be the end. No car could recover from a trauma like that. “Prognosis negative.”

Her Primary Care Provider made a house call.  He diagnosed the condition as serious but not terminal. There was hope, there was a treatment for this affliction.

She is currently home bound on total rest until the procedure, which is scheduled for Monday morning.  At this time we don’t know if it will be out-patient or will require an overnight stay.

She should then be able to resume her normal activities, curtailed only by certain limitations due to her advanced age.

My thanks to Bill Nick of Bill Nick’s Garage, and to my sis, Betty Liddle, for loaning me her car. Also to my son, Phillip, for holding my hand and patting my shoulder.  And to Carla Barnwell and Rhonda Roberts for letting me hitch a ride.