Being Sick

We woke up the next morning and all of the storms had passed. It was damp and chilly though. We drove the few miles to the hospital and unloaded the heart machine and then drove to our place of layover. We were headed to Minneapolis but stopped a little short of there so that I could get some groceries at Walmart and then we stayed in the lot to prepare our lunch and take a quick nap.

We got a load picking up really close to where we were that was going to Big Spring, TX. Yay, finally Texas. We haven’t been there in a while. But when we spoke with Tate and Shirley we found out that they weren’t going to be there, they were traveling to Ohio to deliver a truck to a new team of drivers.

So we made the trip without any excitement or trouble. We were tired from hustling to get there. We found a rest area close to our delivery. So we parked and prepared to spend the night. I have been so tired lately, more so than usual. I fell asleep within minutes.

When Pops woke me up the next morning I knew instantly that I had a big problem. My vision was “rolling.” It was like the old television sets when the picture “rolled.” I could not stop my vision from doing that. Then it made me dizzy and nauseous. I began to throw up and was sick in stomach. Pops walked me into the bathroom and then on the way out, (it was still dark) we heard a coyote howl right behind the dumpster there at the rest area. We didn’t see it but it was right there and we heard it howl 2 more times.

If I hadn’t been so sick, I would’ve been so excited but frankly I didn’t care at all. I just wanted to lay down. As long as my eyes were shut, I didn’t feel so bad. So Pops agreed to start driving today. I agreed to go to a clinic, but was afraid they would pull my drivers license. So we went to our delivery then to Dallas for a layover.

Pops was going to accept short loads and drive as a single driver until I felt better. By doing this, we wouldn’t be totally without a paycheck. I appreciated him doing this for me, but I just slept the day away and when I woke up late in the afternoon everything was back to normal except I still felt really weak and tired, even though I just slept for about 14 hours.

We were at a truckstop in Dallas and I got my blanket and sat outside in the sun with the dogs. After about an hour we got a load going to Alabama. I was feeling better now so I drove to our pickup right in the heart of Dallas and then headed toward Alabama.

We got to Shreveport, LA and the highway was shut down in both directions and traffic was being put off and onto another road. I found out that a truck hauling explosives had been rear ended by another truck and although it didn’t explode, it had to be left untouched until experts could come and make sure that separating the trucks wouldn’t cause an explosion. The whole process of traffic jam and detour took about 2 hours.

Finally it was Pops’ turn to drive and I went right to sleep.

I woke up at our destination the next morning. Then we were headed toward Atlanta for a layover but got another load immediately.

We had to go to Columbus, GA for pickup and then it was going to Ontario. When we got to our pickup they asked us if we could haul more freight. Pops called Fedex and they said it would be ok.

So while we waited for the workers to return from their lunchbreak we ate our lunch. Then we got loaded and was on our way.

I drove us through GA, TN and to Florence, KY and then Pops began to drive. Once he started to drive I went to sleep. But I got awakened when I heard Pops talking to someone. We were in a weigh station and had gotten pulled behind. We were overweight. So we got a big fine that we are responsible for. I was so upset, but what are you going to do about it now? We should have scaled the load, but we didn’t so there goes $325 right out of our pockets.

We then had to find another Walmart so that I could get some cash. We needed cash to pay the tolls to go into Canada.

So after about an hour of sleep Pops found a Walmart and I had to wake up and go in for cash. Then I stayed awake because we were only about 30 minutes from the Canadian border and I needed to be awake and in the front seat when we crossed in.

We crossed the border with no problems and I went to lay down again. I did wake up once we reached our destination, but not for long, I tried to go right back to sleep as Pops drove us back to Buffalo for our layover. But sleep was sporadic and I had a headache and was grumpy.

I need to rest. Pops needs to rest.

We are in Buffalo now. We have a load that picks up tomorrow and delivers on Sunday in Michigan. So we have time tonight to shower and get good sleep and try to catch up on some of the things that get put aside during the week while we are rushing from here to there.

Keep us in your prayers. We need them.