A week of extreme highs and extreme lows!

February 11th –18th, 2019

Was it the severe low temperatures (most days between -12 for a high and -30+ for the low)? The visit to the hospital to get a Tetanus/diphtheria booster prior to our Asian trip? The inability to use the wood stove as it’s not drawing air properly? Or the extra stress of trying to finish up so many projects prior to the end of my Teacher-Librarian/Learning Commons Specialist contract on March 9th? Some how I managed to contract a heavy cold which ended up in acute sinusitis! I was driven home from work Tuesday at lunch, stayed home on Wednesday, and although I worked Thursday and Friday I spent most of the long weekend resting up and sleeping.

Meanwhile….On February 12th, my 2019 vw Jetta had its second major break down in the WKE parking lot! The car started fine but the dashboard was completely black except for 2 emergency flashing lights and lots of binging sounds. I checked the manual book. It was NOT good news!

After phoning roadside assistance, I was informed that a tow truck would be arriving to transfer my “reliable”2019 vw jetta to the nearest vw dealership–this time that happened to be in Prince George! I burst into tears as I was really sick, it was -20 degrees, and I had no way to get around the community and to my other school. When I was told to take a taxi or a bus….I sobbed! There are no taxis, rental cars or daily bus services here. Mark took over the situation! The Prince George vw dealership would offer a loaner….if I picked it up!!!! Interesting….It’s 228 km away and takes 2 hours and 45 minutes to drive each way–when the conditions are good! Plus…How would I get there!!!!! The tow truck driver suggested they would bring the loaner car back to Burns Lake for a fee of $100. It was my only reasonable choice!

The next day I had two beautiful St. Valentine’s Day flower baskets delivered to “home base” from my loving husband and mother. Cheery flowers and messages helped to brighten my day. That night at 8:45 p.m. the local tow truck arrived with my 2012 Hybrid jetta loaner. It had no engine plug in, so I was concerned about its effectiveness in this severe cold snap. But…The hybrid starts up quickly and doesn’t require a lengthy engine warm up!

On Friday I was so run down I finally went to the hospital to get checked by a doctor. That’s when it was determined that I had acute sinusitis. I started Meds. on Friday afternoon, rested with “Brat” all weekend, and within a week I felt back to my normal self! Although it is impossible to find a doctor or nurse practitioner in the Nanaimo area, doctors are accepting patients up here.