My heart is heavy today as I'm reminded on FB posts of what we went through. So, to celebrate our girl making it to 4 years post-accident so brilliantly...

This is a post from awhile back, but it's easier for me to randomly skip around from now on.

March 2021 update.

Calli is trying to keep me straight and pointed out how I completely skipped an important update. Her Prius was serving her well. She was driving all the places and able to do most of the things with her friends. But, as we were all told ahead of time, it gets old to have someone take your chair in and out of the trunk. And when it rains? Oy. Her goal of breaking down her chair each time by herself wasn’t happening. Some people can do this, but most of them have full function of their hands (and often their torso muscles). She practiced and practiced. Taking each wheel off and lifting the chair across her body, around the steering wheel, and each piece into the back seat… Then getting to your destination and putting it back together, just to do it again to get home? Are you crazy?! Well, “A” for effort, but that’s not reasonable for her level of injury. But if you know Calli, she has to give it a go. She didn’t want a van because she’s not a soccer mom. So we looked. At vans haha. We should’ve looked at cruise ships for the same expense. Cheap used ones with a 6-way adjustable front seat (allowing her to transfer to the car seat and drive) were above $70,000 in Oregon! Does it make hot chocolate at the push of a button? No? Then what the heck is that price for? Oh ya. The handicapped world with ridiculous prices. Because they can. But wait… an Arkansas guy had one listed for much less. I jumped on email and then made Glen get on the phone with him. Decent ones for sale by owner go fast. Could we come get it really soon? They would hold it for a week. Riley and the 3 humans got plane tickets and were ready to drive this new vehicle back across the country. Looking forward to a smooth adventure this time!

But of course not. Here’s saga one. Usually, Calli gives Riley meds before a flight so she just chills out. The vet wanted to try a different one this time <insert the music from Jaws>. Immediately before boarding, Riley turned super sick. She’s never been like this. I mean puking and diarrhea. Glen and I ran to the bathroom and rinsed her in the sink. Will a million paper towels dry her off enough? What do we do?! Hold her and make her feel better. She can sleep. Poor thing, she’ll be fine. But shortly after we took off, she did it again. The smell was unreal. I always carry a plane blanket and we wrapped her and her guts that came out in it. Glen tried not to move at all to keep it all in the blanket. Do you guys remember our first plane stories with Calli and I? I never wanted another episode, but here we were. She was barely responding and breathing very slow. I’m serious, she literally looked like she was dying. Oh, Lord. Get us there. We were quietly crying and praying. Wet dog in a pukey, water diarrhea blanket. Who are these people?! US. Because this is what happens to us. 

The flight was terrible and long, but we made it. When we got to the Nashville airport, Glen bee-lined it for a bathroom. I got Calli and we met up (thank God for cell phones). Riley got another sink bath. Unwrapping her, there was lots of blood in her diarrhea blanket. Terrifying. We didn’t tell Calli how bad it was, but we truly thought we were losing her. My parents were heavy on their prayer chain since take-off, so we knew we had the best team lifting Riley up. We called the vet emergency place nearby and she could not be seen due to their volume and covid. Calli called our vet back home and described it all. They said it couldn’t have anything to do with the new meds, but that it was probably stress. Are you kidding??? This dog has done cross-country drives and plane trips more than many humans. But no time to crack skulls. Prayer was our armor because saga number two was developing.

I’d recently started getting migraines after really stressful situations and one was brewing as the plane landed. Oh no. The wife of the couple we were getting the van from came and got us from the airport. I immediately (and quietly) threw up while in the back of their van for the entire hour ride (I had a bag from the plane). While I now wanted to die, Riley started responding when we talked to her. After we got to their house, we sealed the deal. This was not easy either as there was a crazy bank transaction and a notary, but it got done. I stayed outside in the van and acted fake happy if they made eye-contact, while wishing we could leave. I still wonder if they thought I was some crazy weirdo super afraid of people or something. They had to have. Anyway, engine running to drive away, the husband quickly removed the back license plate. Wait. Can he do that? Is that okay? Apparently he’s always kept his old plates and had them in his garage to as proof. But there’s no front plate. The internet confirmed what he told us… that in Arkansas you don’t have to have a license plate for the first 45 days after you purchase a vehicle, with the bill of sale. We were only going to be in Arkansas for under 2 hours. Oops. Does this mean that we can go through yellow lights, toll roads, and traffic cameras without them identifying us? Maybe.

By the time we got to our hotel I was a mess. Glen put ice on my neck and forehead, and tucked Riley and I in so they could run errands and get food. They offered to stay, but I just wanted no sound, no light, and to crash. By the time they were back, I had slept, and my headache was a normal one. Riley had stopped her bloody diarrhea-ing and we moved on.

We drove through Phoenix where we visited Cheri and Michael’s apartment and CJ’s pad, equipped with several bachelors. We drove to see our friends in Prescott, as well. Then we went to Palm Desert and stopped for 2 days to visit my parents who were down there for a month. Easter was this same weekend. We put Calli into the pool and she was able to get around pretty good. Pool noodles allowed her to relax. It was a whirlwind of fun and sleeplessness, and now the whole family had seen Calli’s van. Who said you need to live close-by to be a part of the action?

On the way to northern California, the next saga was developing. It’s hard to believe, but their governor was as bad as ours. We met the Dombrow family at a restaurant and had to wear our masks outside, even on the street waiting for our table or get ticketed. Ridiculous. Either way, we ate well and got all caught up. A road trip across the country can tell you so much about a new-to-you older van. We started to experience a loud motor sound off and on, followed by dramatic bouncing. This was while we were on the freeway. Or while we weren’t. Not because of potholes or when we were stopped. It was just like those cars that rock up and down on purpose. It kept lasting longer amounts of time, and we were losing our sense of humor. Glen hit his head on the ceiling in the back seat. A couple times. True story. It was important that he get work done on his computer while we drove all day, and he could no longer do it back there. We blamed one driver after another, regardless of who it was. Switched drivers. Same. Discovered it wasn’t the driver. Glen had to ride in the front passenger seat the rest of the way to lessen the bouncing, which meant Calli and I were split up. We travel great together because of our music choices, podcasts, and stupid things we talk about. We called the old owners. The husband thought he’d noticed that going on, but the driver (his wife) was hard-of-hearing and the he attributed it to her bad driving. Plus they always stayed in the front 2 seats. And they were really sorry this happened. The van ended up to be a tad more expensive than the initial great deal we flew to Arkansas for.

There is no hot chocolate machine in her vehicle. Pearl is a white minivan that has a kneeling system, and an automatic ramp. This means it lowers (like a bus does) on the ramp side so it is not too steep. It also has hand controls so she can drive, and it works like a regular car when someone else is at the wheel. The driver’s seat can go back super far and moves all the ways. Calli just wheels right in next to the seat and transfers on, then adjusts it back so she can drive. She feels like it takes a million years because it is so slow and she prefers not to have an audience.

Needless to say, she is very happy that she got Pearl. Her independence skyrocketed and I think she drove by herself as much as you do when you just get your license at 16. Because you can. We made it home and still love each other. That is the end of this story.

Stay tuned for the next chapters. I’ve really gotten away from writing since we were legally unable to be on here for so long. We love you and thank you for all your prayers. Heart below so I can see if anyone is still reading this!