Off to see the Wizard
28/01/17 05:57
We're off to see the wizard, the wonderful wizard of OZ. Well, not really. We're off, yes, but not to see a wizard. Not one with a pointy hat anyway. Evan's appointment with his doctor was moved up on the calendar so we'll be traveling to Connecticut shortly to take care of business. As far as visits to this particular doctor go, it is business as usual. Evan stays overnight, they monitor his blood sugars throughout the night, and he is summarily discharged the following day. He will no doubt receive revised instructions on dosage and lifestyle changes thanks to updates in treatment methodologies around this particular disease.
There are no downsides to these visits so Evan is not otherwise disinclined to go and is as prepared for the trip and overnight stay as he can be. The weather forecast portends little or no precipitation so no worries there. Since this will be our first visit to Connecticut, I have been charged with finding suitable accommodations for our planned two-night stay. "Suitable" meaning not on the outskirts of the local ghetto where safety is of concern. I should think that if we stay within a 30 mile radius or so that should give us appropriate leeway in finding lodging that meets our needs. As a final cautionary note, I would say that we would be well served as would our son were we as parents to take a step back and allow Evan to take responsibility for his own care when it comes to managing this disease. Is there any reason why he can't make this trip alone?
I have this ongoing struggle with myself about buying a new car, not wanting to abandon my old car, and all the decision making that goes on when it comes to such things. When my old car runs fine I am hard pressed to think about new cars so I go with the status quo. When things go awry and something needs to be fixed I generally have it taken care of without delay. Why not? I love my older car. It has been reliable and, generally speaking, low maintenance. Lately though, I have had a funny sort of problem affecting acceleration and this has been perplexing to me. It looks and feels strangely electronic since my speedometer and odometer stop working intermittently. It is unsettling at a minimum and potentially dangerous if and when the desire and act of accelerating into ongoing traffic falls flat as it has on several occasions.
These are problems outside my comfort zone so rely on the professionals to diagnose and repair the problem. When they misdiagnose and charge me for services that fail to fix the problem I lose any and all faith in the their ability to get me and my vehicle back on the right track. I know their intentions are good but the end result is no less disappointing. Do I bring it back to them as I have? How many times do I have to do that before they get it right? Do they charge me every time? If the problem is intermittent how do they experience what I experience first hand? As a last resort, I turned to the internet to do a little research and quickly discovered several references to my very problem. It was NOT the problem as diagnosed by my mechanic but something altogether different. The fix itself which seemed to work for most in the forum was quite simple. Insert a clothespin or something similar between two objects beneath the hood of my car right below the fuse box. I know it sounds terribly homespun but I can't argue with the results thus far. It just works. There was even a pictorial showing precisely where to insert the object so it was easy to follow. Perfect. Not sure I want to share this piece of good news with my mechanic but I was happy to inform my family that the car was safe to drive once again. As for now, so far, so good.
There are no downsides to these visits so Evan is not otherwise disinclined to go and is as prepared for the trip and overnight stay as he can be. The weather forecast portends little or no precipitation so no worries there. Since this will be our first visit to Connecticut, I have been charged with finding suitable accommodations for our planned two-night stay. "Suitable" meaning not on the outskirts of the local ghetto where safety is of concern. I should think that if we stay within a 30 mile radius or so that should give us appropriate leeway in finding lodging that meets our needs. As a final cautionary note, I would say that we would be well served as would our son were we as parents to take a step back and allow Evan to take responsibility for his own care when it comes to managing this disease. Is there any reason why he can't make this trip alone?
I have this ongoing struggle with myself about buying a new car, not wanting to abandon my old car, and all the decision making that goes on when it comes to such things. When my old car runs fine I am hard pressed to think about new cars so I go with the status quo. When things go awry and something needs to be fixed I generally have it taken care of without delay. Why not? I love my older car. It has been reliable and, generally speaking, low maintenance. Lately though, I have had a funny sort of problem affecting acceleration and this has been perplexing to me. It looks and feels strangely electronic since my speedometer and odometer stop working intermittently. It is unsettling at a minimum and potentially dangerous if and when the desire and act of accelerating into ongoing traffic falls flat as it has on several occasions.
These are problems outside my comfort zone so rely on the professionals to diagnose and repair the problem. When they misdiagnose and charge me for services that fail to fix the problem I lose any and all faith in the their ability to get me and my vehicle back on the right track. I know their intentions are good but the end result is no less disappointing. Do I bring it back to them as I have? How many times do I have to do that before they get it right? Do they charge me every time? If the problem is intermittent how do they experience what I experience first hand? As a last resort, I turned to the internet to do a little research and quickly discovered several references to my very problem. It was NOT the problem as diagnosed by my mechanic but something altogether different. The fix itself which seemed to work for most in the forum was quite simple. Insert a clothespin or something similar between two objects beneath the hood of my car right below the fuse box. I know it sounds terribly homespun but I can't argue with the results thus far. It just works. There was even a pictorial showing precisely where to insert the object so it was easy to follow. Perfect. Not sure I want to share this piece of good news with my mechanic but I was happy to inform my family that the car was safe to drive once again. As for now, so far, so good.