Medical Issues and Our Two “oops” moments.

 

Wesley Chapel, Florida  (high 61, low 32)

 

Despite the very chilly (for Florida) weather, the skies have been blue and the sun has been shining.  These cooler days feel pretty good and we’re not complaining, too much.

We’re hoping to head south to the Keys in a few days, but unfortunately it’s not been too warm there either.

As always when we plan to go somewhere, we never know what will change our plans at the last minute.  The old plans are written in jello thing

Right now, we are awaiting a new rear air-conditioning/heat pump unit.   We have an extended warranty, but they wanted to send one of their appraisers to inspect it before giving the repair authorization. I’ve heard horror stories about  taking weeks for these appraisers to come out.   Fortunately that wasn’t the case here, and he was out yesterday.   We haven’t gotten the authorization for repairs yet, but Tim, our repairman doesn’t think there will be any problem.   We have tentatively scheduled it to be done on Saturday.  We need a new unit, whether or not the warranty covers it.  If it’s denied, I’ll be reading the contract and reason for the denial. 

Of course, when you’re trying to leave things always pop up.   We have a Thetford Aria II Deluxe electric toilet in our rig. It was one of the many things Lazy Days so nicely replaced for us when we bought the coach less than three years ago.  They are about $900.    There are two buttons.  One to add water, one to flush.  No foot pedal.  In theory it sound nice.  It’s a all porcelain, including the base.  No cheap plastic front.   It’s a nice looking toilet, much like what you would use for your home. It’s noisy, but the  problem is we’re having problems getting the valve to open when you push the button to flush.  There is a manual override knob underneath, but lately Al has had trouble even getting that to open the valve.  Not a good thing, when you only have one toilet!  

So, yesterday when Tim (the rv guy) came by, we had him look at it, and of course it worked perfectly.  In fact it worked perfectly all day long, until last night.   Tim thinks it could be the control board, which he priced out at $400.   Yikes.  So, now we’re probably just going to get a new toilet.   We’re hoping the warranty company will cover the cost.   We’ve been doing some online research, trying to find another porcelain toilet without a plastic base.  We would prefer a non electric one with a foot pump, but want one with no plastic.  Evidently one of those does not exist, so we’ll likely have to go with a plastic base and porcelain bowl.  Oh well….as long as it flushes.

 

 

Our next issue is with Al.   If you remember, he hit his head on the slide-out  in November.   He bled a bit, but a nurse neighbor dressed the wound and didn’t think he needed any stitches.   He didn’t have any headaches, and I watched him for a few days to make sure he wasn’t having any issues.

A few weeks ago, he started having bad headaches that wouldn’t go away and didn’t respond to any type of pain meds.   He finally went to his ENT doctor.  He though it was a sinus issue and gave him some nasal spray.  He said if that didn’t help he would need an MRI.   The headaches continued, so we scheduled the MRI, but by this time, his headaches had gotten much better.

It turns out there was an issue with the MRI, so he has an appointment with the doctor today.  We had to pick up the CD from the MRI to bring with us to the doctors appointment today.   We also got the written report, which we attempted to interpret.   Of course, that can get interesting trying to Google what each medical term means.   After much Googling, my interpretation is that Al has a subdural hematoma that is 6.5 mm in size, and probably caused by his head injury.  I don’t think surgery will be necessary, but I guess we’ll see if I’m right after we see the doctor today.   He is feeling much better, so we’re taking that as a good sign.

 

Now, for our “oops” moments.  I had mine first and the next day Al had his. 

I had an appointment last week to get  the pressure in my eyes checked.  I had laser surgery over a year ago due to some issues with closed angles and high eye pressure, and needed a follow up visit.

I never carry a purse anymore, since Al drives, I have no need. I put my drivers license and insurance card in his wallet in case I need them.  Before I got out of the car, I put my license and insurance card in my pocket, walked in the door and up to the window.  She asked for my insurance card but not my license.  I signed in, grabbed my insurance card and walked to the waiting area where Al was waiting.  I reached into my pocket to give him my license and insurance card and my drivers license was missing!   I walked all of 50 feet from the car to the desk to the waiting area, and lost my license.  I searched everywhere multiple times and could never find my license. 

The only thing I can figure is that when I pulled out the insurance card, I dropped my license.  A lady came up to the desk right after I did, and I wondered if she picked it up.  If she did, she must have had a reason for not returning it.  That is the only scenario I could figure.    I am a little concerned about it, but at this point, I don’t know what else to do.   I ended up getting a new drivers license for $25.00.     Oops.

 

This post is getting too long, but next time, I’ll have to tell you why you should close your curtains before you come out of the bathroom naked……especially if you have some of those long windows.   And, NO, it wasn’t me or Al.

 

The next day, Al was putting on our new hose that we got at the rv show.  It was one of those that squeezes back up when you turn the water off.  The ones we got at the show are black, and have brass fittings which hopefully won’t break as quickly as the cheap green ones.

Anyway, we had a hose hanger that fit over the top of the spigot.   I am not quite sure what happened, but it involved a rubber  mallet.   Have you ever seen when they open a fire hydrant?   Well, that’s exactly what it looked like.  There was a big gusher of water flooding right out and down the street.   It was way more pressure than when you turn on your faucet all the way.  It was huge!   I called the Rv park, and Herbie came right away, but had a hard time finding out where to turn off the water.  We have city water from one spigot, and well water we use for watering plants, cars, etc.  He apparently didn’t know where to turn off the well water and it took him 15 or 20 minutes.   Of course there was water everywhere and that brought seemingly about everyone in the park.     Oops.   Herbie was not happy.  Sorry Herbie.

 

And since we’re dreaming of the Keys….a picture of what is to come  (hopefully)