The Self-Imploding Van and the Hematologist

In April (yes, I’m trying to catch up on past blog posts never written), Ryan went to a hematologist for some examination. He is going to have his tonsils and adenoid removed in July and some blood work came back out of range.

On the way to pick up Ryan for his appointment, my van’s A/C died. On the way to the doctor’s, my van self-imploded. Still no A/C, now the O/D light started blinking, then the transmission seemed got funny, jerking from 1st to 2nd gear. Then, I noticed a teeny bit of smoke coming out of the engine. I checked the engine temperature, and it was at ‘cold’ – weird. But I was a few miles from Baptist Hospital & our appointment, so I chugged on.

Well, the smoke got thicker and thicker – I called Rene to see if there was a good chance of the van catching on fire. “Is the smoke black or white?” “White.” “You should be okay.” IT DOESN’T LOOK OKAY. All the while, I’m calculating the cost of fixing the A/C + transmission + whatever the heck else was going all wacky. I figured that maybe Mazda vans are hard-wired to self-destruct after 110,000 miles. As I pulled in to the hospital parking – not caring what side of the hospital I needed to park at (I picked the opposite side, of course.) – the van was billowing smoke. People were staring. And pointing – as if I couldn’t FREAKING see the smoke.

Thankfully, we made it the appointment with enough time to watch the Bolt DVD menu play over and over and a bit of the movie itself, once we got the receptionist to turn it on. Ryan was a champ during the appointment. The doctor’s assistant (his wife, I’m guessing, or a relative – same last name, anyway) was so nice and even let me take pictures of the exam, which I felt awkward doing. I’m so glad I took them – awkward or not.

Ryan was also a champ for the couple of hours we had to wait for Rene to rescue us from the hospital. I wasn’t driving that clunker anywhere. Ryan’s favorite games were running along the side of the lake, hiding behind the tree, and shoving grass down my pants while I read a book on my Kindle (sorry, no pictures of THAT game). He was hoping I would fart, so he could see if it made the grass move. A true scientist, that kid.

This part of the exam tickled Ryan.

A lot.

Waiting for his Dad to rescue us…