Wednesday, November 14, 2018

Angry Subaru and knees


My new Subaru has TPM. Tire Pressure Monitors. Last Thursday night we had a 'snow' event that made the roads pure ice under the snow on the black top roads. Our county road was a piece of wicked winter work.

The gravel road wasn't too bad either. The new 'Ru also lets me know that the temperature outside is cold enough to produce slick spots. Thank you vehicle, as if I didn't understand that 20 degrees means there could be ice on the roads.
Well, it is a safety feature just like the TPM.

I checked the air pressure and it was a bit low in the tires, but apparently my gauge must not be quite accurate.
I called the dealership wondering what I should do and they asked me to bring it in.

I didn't like driving it with all of those warning lights on. I just kept hearing a little tiny voice in the back of my head "Warning Will Rodgers! Warning! Danger!"

I also skipped my 6 AM class because the thought of suddenly being stranded at 5:30 on a country road didn't sound so great in 20 degree weather.

The Service Rep was so kind to explain to me that when there was a sudden huge drop in temperatures this sort of thing occurred in most all tires and vehicles unless I kept it in a warm garage. Seems to me I recall my husband checking tires on the old vehicles in the cold months and adding air.

These are Nitrogen filled tires. Um. Yep. But you can put regular air in them.
Oh this new technical world! I also have the Starlink activated. Since I transport both my husband and my MIL who have medical issues, it is nice to know that an ambulance can be dispatched to my location if one of my passengers have a medical emergency. I can also push the other button and get roadside assistance.
Nifty but strange.

Anyway. Back to the tires. I was filled at no charge, they checked the tires and sensors for issues and all was fine.

I'm sure the service rep thought I was kind of a twit for not knowing about cold temps and tires, but hey Rich was my go to guy and he said he didn't know what caused it. Well I learned something new.

All the tires are happy now and filled properly. And I am headed off to CrossFit and then the store. All my errands in town should be done by 8:30 am. That is a nice feeling.

It will leave me some time today to go look for ice formations. No dogs allowed on this little adventure. I want to concentrate on some quiet time for me after spending the day at the VA yesterday.

Oncology was happy that there is no sign of cancer returning. We spent hours though getting someone to see his swollen knee cap again. A referral to Ortho is weeks out yet. It doesn't seem that anyone wants to really deal with it. I explained that it hurt him so bad that he could barely get in and out of our car not to mention getting around the house.

I also explained to the nurse the importance of mobility for his mental health and well being.

It did not fall on deaf ears, but those ears were extremely sympathetic.

I fixed the Subaru easily, it is happy now.
I can't fix Rich's knee, it is very unhappy now. In fact at 3AM he said it hurt like a son of.....

He told me to go to work out and he'd be fine sleeping until I got back.



2 comments:

  1. Sometimes when appointments are so far out you can be seen someplace else...and the VA picks up the bill. I think it is called Veterans Choice Program you qualify if you live more than 40 miles away from the VA or cannot see someone within 30 days, it was supposed to help veterans that were waiting for treatment but had long waits for appts. It might be worth a try.
    My vehicle has those nitrogen filled tires too, I have the service people check them every oil change and top them off. Newer vehicles are way too smart:)

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    Replies
    1. We tried Veteran's Choice and in our rural area it is severely lacking. The wait for a VC dental appt was 7 months, an eye doctor was faster however they had issues with the records transfer.
      I would love to have Rich see the local Ortho guy, he is one of the top 10 surgeons in the US. How our small town got him is a miracle. This Doc put me back together 3 times in my shoulders and elbow.
      However VC doesn't have a lot of participation here.

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