Long week

Last week was a crazy week for me and I am so glad I am on somewhat back to a normal week. To start off my week I worked three-12 hour shifts. After my last day I drove immediately to my parents house at 8. I showered and was ready to go. We were going to Florida....not for a vacation though! My dad has been looking for a handicap RV for a couple of months now. Well he found one that is little older but for a good deal. However, it happened to be 13 HOURS away. My dad had asked me if I would go with them so someone could drive their van back. I always try and help my parents no matter what...and even though I did not want to do this crazy trip I said, okay. So we left at 8 and I was going to try and sleep in the van on the way to Florida while my mom drove. I got like 5 hours of sleep because most of you know how hard it is to sleep in a vehicle. We met the RV guy around 1 and were looking the RV over. Everything looked like it ran good except the handicapp lift would NOT work. The guy said it had been working fine. He called a mechanic down the road to look at and finally got it to work. The reset button was half pushed in and that is why it would not work. I was so relieved! My dad tried the lift out and we had it go up and down a couple times. No problems since. This was just the start of some of the problems. We were at the RV place for over 3 hourse and we were just ready to stop at a rest area.

We did find a rest area to let my dad lay down for a bit and to get some sleep. My dad didn't know the exact measurements of the bed to all the walls and seats. I have told hime before to just go look at RV's to determine what would fit his situation best...he never did though. For some of you who may not know my dad is in a wheelchair and can not transfer himself. So my mom and I had my dad in the lift to transfer him from the wheelchair to the bed. Guess what? We needed atleast a foot to be able to get my dad on the bed since everything was too tight. I was like this can't be happening. We got my dad back in the wheelchair with some trouble. My dad and us don't like him sitting for long periods in the wheelchair b/c the probability of pressre sores happening. It had been already around 17 hours...too long. We didn't know what to do b/c almost all hotels don't have an opening under the beds to let the lift legs go under the bed. They have those boards blocking so nothing can go under the bed. We have had to deal with this before. I started crying and said lets just start driving straight back so we don't waist any other time with my dad in the wheelchair. It was awful and I was not feeling well b/c I didn't want my dad to get anything from this trip.

We ended up driving back and slept for 3 hours and positioned my dad in somewhat of a way to get him off his butt. After we slept we got gas. Guess what? Another obstacle we encountered. The RV would not start. I was about to break down. It was 4 in the morning and no place would be open until atleast 7-8. The guy working at the gas station tried to jump us...no results. He called a tow guy and he tried to jump us. The tow guy (Randy) found out the battery wires were really ceroded (if that is how you spell that). The RV ended up starting after about 2 hours at the gas station. I was just praying the whole time God please just let us get this thing running so we can make it home safe. After the gas station incident we did make it home safe but VERY tired. That was a trip I don't want to ever do again. We are going to have to make some modifications to the RV but things should be okay!

Well part of the reason I told you about this story is b/c It made me realize that you can go through all of these obstacles God may give you. But in the end God is always there and will always have a reason for everything. While we were at the gas station the guy working was so kind and it was as if God had planned our break down there. We could have broke down anywhere. Since we were at the gas station for some time we talked with the worker and found out he was in coma when he was 18 for 6 months. He said that was a life changing event and is so grateful now for what he has. As we were talking to him we found out he hosts a Christmas parade in their town and gives kids free carriage rides during their Christmas events. He owns a horse and cow farm and just absolutley loves animals. He told me he has around 14 dogs and 30 cats on his farm. He has rescued these animals through the years so they would have a home, food and a better life. I thought it was great he has helped that many animals. He said he tries to help anyone in need b/c that is what he loves to do. He is only around 25 years old. But has done and learned so much. When we were about to leave my parents were going to give him a little tip for helping us. He was out there with us the majority of the time since nobody was at the gas station while it was FREEZING. When my mom tried to give him the money he said the next time you see someone in need I just ask you to give this to them or help them out. I just absolutely loved that he said that. It is great there are people out there that are looking out for others. After we left the gas station we had gone through so many obstacles but I didn't want to think about what all had gone wrong but all the great things we have right now. So the next time you help someone just ask them in return to help the next person in need.

Sorry it was so long! Until next time take care!