For those of you who have been trying to follow my blog you are probably wondering why have I taken a second break in daily posting.  I have been the victim of faulty repair of my car following my recent auto collision.  The fumes from freon that were finding their way into the passenger compartment were giving me these site effects:

• Pronounced sleepiness
• Headaches
• Nausea

They were causing me to have trouble in a lot of areas of my life, including thinking clearly enough to enjoy writing.

To make a long story short yesterday I took the car back to the dealership for them to look at it.  Their service tech could not guarantee the source of all the fumes was eliminated.  I so went the manger of the dealership and told her I did not feel safe in my car, and was not leaving in it until I had 100% the problem was solved.  She asked me what she could do to make the situation right, and I told her I needed out of the car.  She was able to trade me into a 2015 model with the same equipment as my car.  She made a deal that gave significant reductions in the cost of the car.  I expected to have to pick the new car up the next day, but she said they would get it ready for me to take home that evening.  Employees at the dealership stayed late after the dealership was closed for the day to complete the steps necessary for delivery.  This is a fantastic example of customer service and last night was the first night I have not gone to bed worried about having to use what I was calling “the fume mobile” the following day.

This experience shows what my patients face everyday, unexpected events.  As a chaplain I try to offer my patients grace and caring as they deal with their unexpected life events.