I took the heavy carrier with Cowboy in it out the door of the vet hospital and headed for the car. I hit the remote key from a distance. I didn't hear the doors unlock but I didn't think much of it. The car, which by now had been sitting in the hot sun for almost 2 hours, was blazing inside. The cat was already traumatized from the blood draw wrestling match. I was traumatized by the size of the bill. I just wanted some air conditioning for me and Cowboy and a nice long nap.
I got in the driver's side and turned the key in the ignition. Nothing. No sound. No motor turning over. Nothing at all except the now accelerating beat of my heart. I looked over at Cowboy in his carrier. His mouth was wide open with his tongue hanging out and he was beginning to hyperventilate. I was soon to join him. A string of curse words flew out of my mouth. I tried the key again. Nothing. Still cussing, I got out, took Cowboy out of the car and went back inside the hospital. The receptionist looked at me and asked if there was something wrong. Yeah, I told her, my car won't start. I put the carrier down on the floor of the lobby.
A woman who had been waiting with her large mastiff was now heading into the exam room. She turned and asked if I had jumper cables. I thought for a minute. I remembered buying new jumper cables in Indy when I went to pick the car up. Ha! I thought. All those people who made fun of me buying jumper cables! Who's laughing now? I might have been near the edge of hysteria. She told me she could jump my car after the doctor saw her dog. I thanked her.
I pulled out my cell phone and was ready to call Cara, when I remembered she was not in town. My second thought was to call Seaver, a coworker. He was a male who would know what to do in a car-related situation; all men know how to solve car problems right? He might even possibly come out and help me. Then I remembered he was out of town too. Suddenly my world seemed very small. I thought about calling Jeff, another coworker, but really what was I thinking? I was going to call someone I work with to come jump start their boss's car? Instead I scrolled down through my contact list until I got to Tom. I didn't even know if I had his current cell number, but I dialed it anyway. He picked it up and said hello? in his normal low key voice. I, being my near-hysterical self, began blurting out the whole story, apologizing the whole time about interrupting him at work as I know he is very busy but I don't know what to do and it's hot and I am tired and poor from just paying this huge vet bill, blah, blah, blah...
Tom told me to drive to his friend's auto shop or to Auto Dynamics after the car was jumped. I could then turn the engine off and try to restart it. If it didn't restart, then I would be in place where it could be looked at. I panted that I had a cat with me. Well, he said, then the cat will have to go with you I guess, ha, ha. I told him I had to hang up because the good samaritan was ready to jump start me.
The lady moved her minivan into a position so that we could jump the car. She seemed very capable and I was suddenly a helpless little girl. My hair was drenched with sweat. We attached the cables to the batteries. It was difficult to get them to stay on the terminals of my battery. We tried to start my car 3 times with no luck. Finally the fourth time, the car started. I told her that there was this dinging in the car and I couldn't figure out where it was coming from. She reached inside and twisted the knob on the steering column that controls the headlights. "Your lights are on," she said, with perhaps a little contempt in her voice?
She unhooked her van and tossed me the cables. She seemed a little put out. I thanked her again. She walked over to her van to get in. Then she noticed that she had locked her keys in her van. With her engine still running. I was upset thinking now she was stuck with her van running. My mind flew forward to the possibility that I would have to stay there even longer and would, of course, feel compelled to pay for a locksmith to come out and set this woman free. Luckily she realized she had left her passenger side window down. She was able to climb in and drive away.
I called Tom again and had him repeat his advice for me. I went inside and got Cowboy. I took the cat home and left the car running in the parking lot while I put him inside. I got back in the car and headed toward Auto Dynamics. On the way, I called Jiffy Lube and explained to them that they had turned my headlights on. I always have my lights set on Auto. They turn on when needed and automatically turn off when you turn the car off. Someone had changed the setting to lights on all the time. After 2 hours, it had completely drained my battery. The Jiffy Lube guy profusely apologized, promised me a 20% discount off my new oil change, if I decide to give them another chance, and said if I drove the car around for about 15-20 minutes, it would completely recharge the battery. I pulled into Auto Dynamics parking lot and they were closed for vacation. Sigh. I turned all the AC vents directly at my face. I drove to the other shop, pulled into the parking lot and turned the car off. I waited 15 seconds. I turned the key again and, thank goodness, the car started right up. Whew!
By 5:30 pm, I was home and asleep on the couch. Poor Cowboy, so traumatized by his doctor visit, had been sleeping on the corner of the guest bed. He had not moved by the time I woke up at 8:30 pm. He had not eaten or used the litter box. He looked groggy. I took one of the flea medicine tubes out of the box and applied it to the space between his shoulder blades, as instructed. He was a bit annoyed but did not move from his spot.
Saturday morning, he still had not moved or eaten. All day Saturday, he stayed in the same spot. I was worried about him and loved on him a little. He did not move from that spot until about 7 pm Saturday night when he joined me briefly on the couch in the living room. By then, I had gotten a voicemail message on my cell phone from the very dreamy veterinarian.
He had Cowboy's test results. He spoke slowly in the message. "On the feline leukemia, he came back as negative," his message said. I was sure he was separating out the two results because the second one had been bad. A long pause. "On the feline HIV, he came back as negative. So negative on both as of 7/24/09. Now you know for sure. If you have any questions, feel free to call me," the message finished.
Just another example of bad healthcare record-keeping! They had written in big bold letters all over his chart "FIV+" without anything to back that up! Good to know that he is not positive for either. Soon his fleas will be dead too. I just want him to eat or drink some water, but he doesn't seem interested. I am exhausted just typing this, but that's the story of my Friday. All in all I spent $304.72 that day. A very expensive day for me. How was YOUR Friday?
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