MeaganS Posted March 25, 2019 Share Posted March 25, 2019 So this week is a big Mayo Clinic week for dd10. She's seeing 5 different specialists for several different appointments, plus some tests/procedures, for a total of 12 appointments over 3 days. Mayo Clinic is 4 hours away, one way. And we need to go twice because we have to be back Wednesday and then go back Thursday. So 16 total hours of driving. We are leaving tomorrow morning at 6:30am. So of course, tonight, when I went to drive our trash to the end of the 1/4 mile driveway for pickup tomorrow, the "check engine" light came on in our only reliable car. Ahh! So now, when dh gets off work in the next hour or so, I have to wake up all the kids, drive to the mechanic to drop off the van, then drive to the airport in dh's much less reliable car (30 mins away) to rent a rental car, then drive home. Totally not what I needed to proceed this week of stress. AND we're finalizing closing our new house tomorrow or Tuesday, which should have been done 2 days ago. I'm done with this week already and it hasn't even started yet. 13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garga Posted March 25, 2019 Share Posted March 25, 2019 3 minutes ago, MeaganS said: I'm done with this week already and it hasn't even started yet. No kidding! Hugs to you. 😞 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Selkie Posted March 25, 2019 Share Posted March 25, 2019 Oh yikes, that stinks! I hope the rest of the week goes smoothly! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
school17777 Posted March 25, 2019 Share Posted March 25, 2019 That stinks! Hope this is the worst of your week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scbusf Posted March 25, 2019 Share Posted March 25, 2019 Sheesh! Hope things get better!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeaganS Posted March 25, 2019 Author Share Posted March 25, 2019 Dropped off the van and picked up the rental car. I got upgraded to a hybrid, so that's cool. Here's hoping everything else goes smoothly. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted March 25, 2019 Share Posted March 25, 2019 Did you recently put gas in your car? A loose or misaligned gas cap can cause the check engine light to come on. Sometimes the electronic indicator needs to be reset. We drive cars that are 2003s and 2002s. Dh has had to learn a lot about this type of thing so he can fix it himself. That isn't everybody's skill or preference, but I'm just amazed at how simple some fixes are--HTH. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El... Posted March 25, 2019 Share Posted March 25, 2019 2 hours ago, Chris in VA said: Did you recently put gas in your car? A loose or misaligned gas cap can cause the check engine light to come on. Sometimes the electronic indicator needs to be reset. We drive cars that are 2003s and 2002s. Dh has had to learn a lot about this type of thing so he can fix it himself. That isn't everybody's skill or preference, but I'm just amazed at how simple some fixes are--HTH. This has happened to me. A new gas cap fixed it, but I had to drive it for a few days to get it to reset. It certainly boosted my adrenaline to see that light come on! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeaganS Posted March 25, 2019 Author Share Posted March 25, 2019 2 hours ago, Chris in VA said: Did you recently put gas in your car? A loose or misaligned gas cap can cause the check engine light to come on. Sometimes the electronic indicator needs to be reset. We drive cars that are 2003s and 2002s. Dh has had to learn a lot about this type of thing so he can fix it himself. That isn't everybody's skill or preference, but I'm just amazed at how simple some fixes are--HTH. For sure! It could totally be something like that. I did get gas recently, but I am always sure to turn it a bunch of clicks because of this and I doubt that's what it is. The van is nearing 270k miles, so my guess is that it is something real. The frustrating part is that I don't have time to figure it out. Since I only had late last night to figure out a solution, I needed to go with the fail-proof choice. And there was an unrelated, not pressing reason to bring it to the mechanic anyways, so dropping it off made the most sense. I hope it is nothing major, but I wouldn't be surprised if it is. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linders Posted March 25, 2019 Share Posted March 25, 2019 What a terrible start to the week! Hugs. Hopefully the check engine light is just one of those routine service things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TechWife Posted March 25, 2019 Share Posted March 25, 2019 Have you asked if you can stay in the Ronald McDonald House instead of driving back and forth every day? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeaganS Posted March 25, 2019 Author Share Posted March 25, 2019 36 minutes ago, TechWife said: Have you asked if you can stay in the Ronald McDonald House instead of driving back and forth every day? We actually got a hotel for two nights. Tonight and Wednesday night. It's just that she has no appointments on Wednesday and dh has a non-negotiable work thing that day anyways, so I'm going back to stay with the kids (he's off the rest of the week as he works 7on/7off). And honestly, when the car works, I actually love long drives, so I don't really mind. They're my happy place when I can just listen to an audio book and hardly anyone bothers me. 😊 The mechanic says that the code is that "all cylinders are misfiring, which is very unlikely." so hopefully it was a freak thing and nothing major, but they're going to check a little more to make sure. Oh, and I woke up at 4am for no reason and couldn't go back to sleep, so that was awesome. Dd and I left extra early and now we're here with several hours to spare. I think we'll wander some stores or something. Mostly though, today is better than yesterday. Lots of appointments but it will be good. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TechWife Posted March 25, 2019 Share Posted March 25, 2019 23 minutes ago, MeaganS said: We actually got a hotel for two nights. Tonight and Wednesday night. It's just that she has no appointments on Wednesday and dh has a non-negotiable work thing that day anyways, so I'm going back to stay with the kids (he's off the rest of the week as he works 7on/7off). And honestly, when the car works, I actually love long drives, so I don't really mind. They're my happy place when I can just listen to an audio book and hardly anyone bothers me. 😊 The mechanic says that the code is that "all cylinders are misfiring, which is very unlikely." so hopefully it was a freak thing and nothing major, but they're going to check a little more to make sure. Oh, and I woke up at 4am for no reason and couldn't go back to sleep, so that was awesome. Dd and I left extra early and now we're here with several hours to spare. I think we'll wander some stores or something. Mostly though, today is better than yesterday. Lots of appointments but it will be good. I'm glad to hear you won't be traveling. Please don't hesitate to ask about the Ronald McDonald House in the future if you need to, though. Repeated hotel stays can get expensive and it is hard to travel with medically complex kids - that's what the house is there for! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeaganS Posted March 25, 2019 Author Share Posted March 25, 2019 7 minutes ago, TechWife said: I'm glad to hear you won't be traveling. Please don't hesitate to ask about the Ronald McDonald House in the future if you need to, though. Repeated hotel stays can get expensive and it is hard to travel with medically complex kids - that's what the house is there for! I will definitely be sure to look into it. Dd has some intense surgeries here in her future, so I could see it being very useful for us then. I was also looking and there's some pretty places to camp nearby, so I might take my new popup camper and make a girls camping trip out of it sometimes. As it is, we come every 6 months, so it's not too bad. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbutton Posted March 25, 2019 Share Posted March 25, 2019 Now that you're there, I hope you enjoy the downtime between appointments. That's a big trip for every six months. You'll have to learn the ins and outs of staying there and give tours or something. 😉 Seriously, I hope all is stable and all of your DD's results are very ho-hum and boring! Good luck with the car woes. Is the closing finalized on the new house? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted March 25, 2019 Share Posted March 25, 2019 Sending good thoughts for your daughter's health and for everything else. Regards, Kareni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mominco Posted March 26, 2019 Share Posted March 26, 2019 Hugs! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frances Posted March 26, 2019 Share Posted March 26, 2019 I hope everything went well today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom@shiloh Posted March 26, 2019 Share Posted March 26, 2019 (edited) 20 hours ago, TechWife said: Have you asked if you can stay in the Ronald McDonald House instead of driving back and forth every day? If you're at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, the Ronald McDonald House is very difficult to get into. Be sure to put your name in as soon as you get there. You can't make advance reservations. You need to be on site, and then plan on it being a day or two before they'll have a spot for you. We were never able to get in since my family would come just for one or two days during surgeries and then they'd go home and I'd stay in the room with ds and didn't need a place. It's been a few years though, so it's possible some things have changed. If you can't get in right away, they will offer you a voucher for a discounted hotel room. Sorry to hear of all your troubles. I hope the rest of your time goes well. Edited March 26, 2019 by mom@shiloh adding 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeaganS Posted March 31, 2019 Author Share Posted March 31, 2019 I made it! It was a seriously long week. Dd was diagnosed with ADHD (not a surprise) and depression (a little bit surprised but not now that I think about it) on top of her still very real autism. It looks like her hearing is perfect (she has a 40% chance of going deaf by middle age) and her heart is remaining steady. We thought we might be clear on her liver, but her blood test numbers are such that she's worrying them a bit. They'd almost dismissed her liver issues, but now we're right back into trying to figure out what is going on. And we closed on the house! So that's done. Right now I'm taking a break from packing for a 2 week trip tomorrow to the new house (12 hours away) to paint and do other tasks before we move in. And my mom and sister saw how overwhelmed I was and sent me some flowers! That very sweet of them and I love them. 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted April 1, 2019 Share Posted April 1, 2019 Here's hoping that this week will be more relaxing. Regards, Kareni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsRobinson Posted April 1, 2019 Share Posted April 1, 2019 Congrats on the new house! Sounds like dd's appointments were productive, if not particularly good news all around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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