That car always had issues with the coolant and radiator. This time, I was driving to pick Stephen up from work. Almost there, I started hearing this noise in tandem with the wheels turning. A rythmic "thump...thump...thump". Okay. Weird. I mentioned it to Stephen as he entered the car. I was worried. He said we should just try driving home. As we left, the sound seemed to get more intense. I quickly pulled over. "Maybe we should call AAA for roadside assistance." I said. Stephen hesitatingly called (he hates calling people almost as much as I do). They said they could only tow.
We tried to decide what to do next. "I don't want to drive this car. I'm scared."
Stephen, having just gotten off a long shift said "Let's just try to get home."
With, I thought, no other option, I started driving again. I tried going slowly, but the sound - even becoming less frequent - got more and more intense. Suddenly, there was this maple smell. I noticed it, but thought it must have been Stephen, or I was going crazy. We were turning onto this busy street and there were cars behind me, so I tried to speed up so as not to annoy them (bad idea). We were approaching a stoplight at an intersection, and then ALL the car lights came on and the breaks and steering wheel just LOCKED. I mean LOCKED. It took all my strength to try not to hit the car in front of us, and I turned the car as much as possible to the right, onto some roadside gravel. We were lucky we'd already slowed down so much, and that there was somewhere to turn off.
I knew something horrible and expensive had happened.
We turned on the hazard lights and circled the car, trying to guess what had happened. I don't think we bothered opening the hood because neither of us knows much about cars. We called AAA (within 5 minutes of our first call, I swear), and told them we'd need a tow. Meanwhile, I had Stephen Google the maple smell. Apparently, he'd smelled it too. Maybe I should've asked. Maybe he should've said something. Oh well.
Something was wrong with the coolant. Of course. We also called one of our best friends for a ride. Again, it would've been smarter to be safe and call for a ride and tow in the first place. We now have a better appreciation of the saying: "Live and Learn". Oh yes...we learned big time.
The car was toast. They didn't explain it well, but it sounded like the pistons had overheated because something was up with the coolant, and they melted to the engine. The actual engine needed to be replaced. We didn't know we had good credit (apparently, I have amazing credit), so we didn't think we'd be able to pay for the $2,000(?) fix, and we knew the actual car was worth less than that, so we bought a new car. It's a blue Hyundai Accent GLS. It's gonna run about $14,000, but we think it'll be worth it.
Unfortunately, that meant that Stephen had to start working full time. I was in no position to work. He just did it. We never even discussed it. I'm so grateful, but I miss him so much. Every day.
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Anyway, we got my PKD tests done in August. Every year, they take a 24 hour pee-collection test and a blood test. The results of which were normal this year. Our doctor sat in his rolly chair and asked us if we'd thought of having kids. I told him we had, but that we didn't know how many or when. He said: "The sooner the better." And then he started talking about this high-risk pregnancy team he knows in Salt lake City. Woah woah woah...we weren't ready for this talk.
"Do you think we should have kids?" I asked. Many doctors tell their PKD patients not to procreate.
"I try to refrain from telling my patients what to do about something so personal. That's between you and God." He replied. "Unless it would kill the mother, but that's only happened twice. Both of them were kidney patients." Then he told us a story about one of them.
"How old, would you say, is the age limit at which we can have kids?"
"35."
Oh my goodness. That is 11 years. Maybe. We're not ready for that but, then again, a lot can change in 11 years. I met Stephen at middle school in 2005. In 2015, we've been married for nearly 3 years. So...we'll see. Still kinda...scary.
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Stephen started his semester at school. Since he is working full time, he can only take 6 credits. Which is good, because we have to pay for them because of his history of bad grades. He's taking a history class and geology. He comes home to tell me about what he's learned, and it's so fun to talk about geology with him. I think we're both glad he took that class! Only like...4 more weeks of class! He's been doing very well. This semester is the first time I've seen him sit down and do homework. Needless to say, we don't take school for granted anymore.
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I dropped out of school. I was doing horribly, and I just didn't care about my classes anymore. I had a hard time caring about anything. My depression, which was starting to get better, just took a nosedive for the worse. I stayed on the couch or in bed most of the day, every day. I felt exhausted. Then, I ran out of medication refills. I couldn't see my psychiatrist because I wasn't a student anymore. I couldn't obtain more, so I tried "ruffin it" without my antidepressants one day. I got a huge headache and I was beginning to freak out just because I knew I wasn't properly medicated.
So, I left for the ER, and I got a refill. That night, I took my first gabapentin since "the great famine", and I felt a million times better. And that feeling never went away. I felt so much better that I started to get scared. I worry still that it will just stop as suddenly as it came on. But I'm enjoying it while it lasts. It's such a different world. Normal people wouldn't understand. I'm just blown away at how different I feel. It's great! Maybe I can get a job soon!
Which reminds me that this sweet girl in our ward has a father and an uncle who were/are in the funeral business. She gave me her uncle's number, and her dad gave me advice. Her uncle told me to send in my resume and interview with whoever to get in good. I'm so excited, but I have yet to write my resume. Major slacking!
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Stephen has been a star. He's working SO hard and providing for me and Millie. He's been doing well in school, it seems. I've been suddenly better, so I hope to post more things to come - even though the year is almost over.
OH I ALMOST FORGOT!!!!
I found my favorite videogame of ALL time: Until Dawn
It is magical. I only wish it was longer and that I could forget after each time I play it so I can have a new experience all over again. It is such a perfect, awesome game! We played it with our closest guy friends. Our best friends. And it was such a blast. We were up pretty late finishing it, but it's such a relatively short game. Oh, but it's lovely. So amazing. And, for Halloween, Stephen and I were characters from it: Mike and Hannah.
Good times!
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