when it rains it pours

Thursday I left Luke after the ultrasound showed no sign of abcess. I left the hospital after 7pm. I was expected to get home after midnight. I was about half way across the state on the PA turnpike and the van suddenly lost all engine power. I coasted off to the side of the road. Glen googled the message on he dashboard, found a bulletin about an engine throttle electrical issue with our van and thankfully a temporary fix was to turn it off and wait 10 min then turn the car back on. It wasn't driving normally but it got me back home. I got home at 2am.

Friday I worked. I found out because I work for a new company I do not qualify for FMLA. I will have to call out of my shift on Tuesday and I asked the company for FMLA papers (for some reason I thought it was 6mo and >1000/ hours, but it is 1 yr and >1250 hrs). Just a little added stress to not have FMLA protection... Especially if Luke is starting off on a bad streak of health.  I will go home Wednesday to work Thanksgiving and Glen will come here Wednesday. We will literally pass on the road.

last week the heater broke in our house. A kind friend from church brought over some space heaters which helped greatly in the kids bedrooms at night. Thankfully Glen was able to buy and fix the part that was rusted and broken. By him doing that we saved about 200.00.

Today I spent some time with the boys this am (carline was at a girl scouts event all day) and do things like pay some bills, go through mail, etc. I headed out after lunch. Glen changed the oil, filled the tires and tightened the connections to the throttle and gas pedal (when he took it to the dealer on Friday they said they couldn't fix it until Tuesday). The check engine light went off. It was driving locally ok. So I decided to bring it back to Pittsburgh. Well an hour and a half from our house (around Harrisburg) once again the van totally quit on me. I turned it off for 10 min then turned it back on and got off at the exit 1 mile away. It again was driving not completely normal so Glen and I decided not to chance it and he would bring me the minivan to drive out. So he and the kids drove out to Harrisburg to meet me. I did get to spend extra time with them as we all had something to eat. It was good to spend time with carline since I didn't see her today.

When I was at work Friday AM I found out my Aunt Diane suddenly died . Growing up I always thought of her as the cool aunt. When I was around Kyaras age I envied her long blond hair (as opposed to my bowl cut) and she would put makeup on me when we visited. That is enough to be cool for a 6 year old! 

this is my Aunt Diane and I when I was around Kyaras age.  You can see how beautiful she was.

I am thankful for the meals delivered to Glen and the kids as well as to me at work. Home cooked meals taste so good when you are living in a hospital! The last place I wawant to eat when I am working is in the hospital caffeteria! 

My hope of all of us being home for Thanksgiving is lessening. Luke has had blood sugars in the 300s when I was gone. His kidneys labs are getting worse not improving, he continues to struggle with not feeling well in his belly and not eating almost anything by mouth, and finding the right balance of nutrition and fluids.