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Sorry for the approaching profanity, but... Jesus H. Christ!!!!!!I'm not surprised they are traumatized!
Only happens in movies doesn't it! Dad said it looked like a bomb had gone off. he is coping worse than Mum. He thought he was going to find Mum dead.
Yeah. Really bad ones. They are both incredibly lucky, Terri.
Yeah, haha, the really bad ones for sure. Those crap Jason Statham movies, or action movies from the 80s and 90s. :)
*chuckles* That's what I was thinking off.
Margaret wrote: "Sorry for the approaching profanity, but... Jesus H. Christ!!!!!!"My thoughts exactly!!
So sorry Terri :(
There's that whole "what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger mumbo jumbo but Holy Christ! How much can one family handle?! xoxo.
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That's horrible Linda! xoxo to you as well.
OMG Terri… what a scary ordeal your parents endured. Obviously, it's all still very raw and nightmarish at this point, but hopefully, eventually, one can look ahead way down the road of time… and see what amazing, first person family defining "story material" you all have ! This attitude is what my extended family has utilized over the years. It's not that one laughs off ordeals and tribulations, but rather sort of embraces the crazy uniqueness of what may eventually be seen as a defining moment. Your Mom and Dad survived… against odds and in the face of grave danger. They and you all can be proud of their strength and resourcefulness. I suggest that someone write it all down, if not for publication, at least for family archives.
And, I wonder, has anyone considered whether or not to pursue legal or financial remedy against the maker of the caravan? Two explosions would not seem to be a coincidence, but rather a consequence of a design or manufacturing flaw.
Crikey Terri, what a horrible experience :( (yeah what Margaret said....)
wow, Terri, certainly going thro the mill, what makes you stronger et al, chin up mate! xx& sympathies to you Linda, was turning in last night & didnt read all your comments before my post.
Wow, Terri, that was awful. Glad to hear your parents are recovering. Hope the best for the MIL, too. There really are times when we get thrown a lot of stress and I think you just went through one of them.
Terri, you seem to be having a bit of a year of it at present. I hope things start to pick up for you soon.Sorry Andy, but can I just be a tad serious about Avian flu in the UK. An outbreak was confirmed near Preston in Lancashire, but of a type not harmful to humans. I haven't heard anything further about this for the last couple of weeks, so I assume it is now contained.
Andy - I bit - hook, line and sinker :) On the weather front - it has been a really mild July for us - since the heat wave broke on the 2nd, it's been between 5 and 15 degrees F below normal. It's only been above 90 once. We've also had 4 times the normal rain fall. That's not saying much however, since we only average 1/2 inch in July. Most of it came in one 2 hr storm one night a couple of weeks ago :)
Linda and Terri - *BIG HUGS*I think most of the group knows that I'm dealing with some medical problems. I've been battling carcinoma since 2007. It hasn't spread but it is very unique and doctor puzzling way. According to the doctors I haven't metastasized or come out of remission. I've had carcinoma three different times (jaw, lung and throat). Most folks experience one and either beat it or it spreads. I've gone through the whole ordeal 3 times now and each time it's treated as a whole new cancer diagnosis. There are some days when I'm on top of the world and some days when I can't make myself crawl out of bed. There is a tendency to feel sorry for oneself and i'll admit that it happens from time to time but when it does I think about what is going on in the rest of the world, either in long term or at that very moment. Somewhere, someone is experiencing a loss greater than I could imagine (Linda) or dealing with multiple bizarre and equally devastating situations all at the same time (Terri) or spending the evening without food, water or rest in a homemade 'bomb shelter' hoping to survive the night (Anyone in a War Zone). It makes me truly appreciate that every night I lay down in my bed, well fed and safe, and that in the morning I open my eyes and have another day to live. Friends, Family and even strangers always say to me "I don't know how you do it. I don't think I could be so strong if i were facing the same thing." In response (and as my cover on my FB page) I have a quote that I find answers that question:
'You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice.'
And big hugs to you too Kimber, I wasn't aware as I'm relatively new here. I hope you get some good news one day soon from those puzzled doctors!
Hi Kimber,Have you had more show up since your last ordeal earlier this year? I often think of you actually. I had to have my first mammogram recently and I thought of you and a woman I know who is battling breast cancer.
I am younger than the usual age where women start getting mammograms and had been putting off a mammogram for at least 12 months. I'd had a little pain in my left breast and even though in know breast cancer is not usually related to pain I was still scared of it.
But knowing people who are tackling major cancer such as yourself and this friend, I thought screw it. If you all can battle the operations and that dreaded chemo, surely I can force myself to get a mamogram!
So I got it done a couple weeks ago and got the all clear.
Now I can stop worrying about it. So thanks to you and others like you, for being an inspiration that we all should take cancer head on and not cower in fear.
Had a day out with my parents on the weekend. They are less traumatised now.They bought a new vehicle, so I think selling the one they had (which was the one they had out there pulling the caravan) and starting afresh has helped them shake some of their demons.
Now for a new caravan, although I don't know how they could ever start a gas oven in a Van again! I sure wouldn't. But then I'm a scaredy-cat like that. :)
Marilee,
There is some talk of class actions...I am not sure that my parents have the passion to commit to it. I think the caravan brand is negotiating with my parents to replace their van with one of their top Off-Road vans for the same price as the caravan that blew up (which the insurance will cover, so my parents won't be out of pocket).
The big thing my family wanted was for the van company to take these gas accidents seriously and warn owners about it.
Until my family started breathing down their throat, the company wasn't going to warn anybody about the flaw because they wanted to palm it off to the stove manufacturer (the stove company that supplies the ovens for that model van).
The company has now rung all owners of this van in Australia and told them to turn off their gas until further notice. So that is great news. May prevent more explosions. Hopefully the van company can find what is wrong with that particular model and potentially save lives or injury.
Clearly something they should have done after the first people got blown up. Pity it took my Mum nearly getting killed for them to finally do something about it.
Good to know that your parents are starting to recover and that they are getting a top of the range model as a replacement. All the other grey nomads will be so envious :)
Terri wrote: "Hi Kimber,Have you had more show up since your last ordeal earlier this year? I often think of you actually. I had to have my first mammogram recently and I thought of you and a woman I know who i..."
Thank you Ace and Terri. Nopes - nothing new since November. I'm just healing now and relearning some skills I lost after the last surgery. Very glad you went and got checked out! What a relief it is when those tests come back with nothing to worry about and then you wonder why you took so long to do them in the first place.
Happy to hear about your parents as well. Kudos for getting 'back up on the horse' and getting the company to at least take some part of the responsibility. Cheers!
Kimber wrote: "Thank you Ace and Terri. Nopes - nothing new since November..."I took a fright last year when I've been asked to come back for an echography after my routine mammogram...I had to wait for it a week due to a busy moment at the hospital. It hasn't been a very good week.
Then I discovered that one of my collegues had a mastectomy a few years ago, and another one is having chemio right now. She's finishing the last one these days, and she decided to work through the whole ordeal. Both are very positive and courageous...I really admire them! They are also very open to explain what happened to them, and I think that helped many women at work to be more proactive in prevention.
Simona wrote: "Kimber wrote: "Thank you Ace and Terri. Nopes - nothing new since November..."I took a fright last year when I've been asked to come back for an echography after my routine mammogram...I had to w..."
I've belonged to several support groups both in person and online. There are people out there who simply do not like to talk, think or share anything about their experiences with illness. I've always tried to look at sharing as a plus. If I can put someone at ease or let them know that what they are feeling/experiencing is normal or expected then I count that as a positive thing. There is nothing scarier than the wait between tests and their results. Contemplating the worst case scenario can be harder on the psyche than actually knowing what is coming next. I think it's very cool that you had people there that were open about their experiences. Every little bit helps. :D
Kimber, I hope you continue to cope with the big C. My SIL was diagnosed breat cancer 3 yrs ago. So far everything is going well and she is in remission, but...On an entirely different note - last night was down right nippy! We were within 3 degrees F of the record low temp ( 51 and the record is 48 )for July 27. The news this morning said there was snow on the mountains about 11,000 ft. I dug out a sweatshirt for my walk this morning. It's supposed to cold again tonight, then get to more seasonable temps by the weekend - still below normal though.
happy wrote: "Kimber, I hope you continue to cope with the big C. My SIL was diagnosed breat cancer 3 yrs ago. So far everything is going well and she is in remission, but...On an entirely different note - l..."
Oh, happy, I envy you your nippy temps. We're in the 90's (F) this week with high humidity and my office is without air conditioning. Two air handlers are being replaced in my building before students come back to school in late August. So I come to work really early and spend some of my day in the school library or other buildings on campus. So far it's been doable, but it does get hotter and stuffier as the days go on.
Catherine wrote: "happy wrote: "Kimber, I hope you continue to cope with the big C. My SIL was diagnosed breat cancer 3 yrs ago. So far everything is going well and she is in remission, but...On an entirely diff..."
I left Texas in the upper 90F region and landed in Canada to a cool 75F. I'm loving it!!!!!
Its in the 90s here in Michigan too. Or close to it. Walking outside feels like stepping into a sauna and it just envelopes you. Ugh! My dad's senior apartment building is without air and has been for almost 2 weeks. That's ridiculous. Seniors will be dropping like flies.
Tis pishing doon here :) more summer gales to come... hurrah!
Allie wrote: "Its in the 90s here in Michigan too. Or close to it. Walking outside feels like stepping into a sauna and it just envelopes you. Ugh! My dad's senior apartment building is without air and has been ..."That's bad; I hope they will be able to get the air on their building soon. The heat affects seniors much more than most other people.
I like the Weather Reports! We are hovering around 100F. We have had quite a few thunderstorms but little damage. One storm blew from a direction with such a download of water that our roof leaked and the basement flooded a little. That kind of rain does not happen often.Support groups. My son has juvenile onset diabetes. Just knowing that he is not going through something that others have not gone through helps him, and me, a lot.
WEATHER REPORT - for the first time since 1874 (when they started keeping records), the average high temp in Salt Lake City for June was higher than that of July! Also, yesterday we got all of August's and most of September's average rain fall. Some spots had 3 inches or more. A lot of local flooding. Thankfully my home was spared. I went for my walk as usual and in spite of the wet weather gear I was wearing by the time I finished I was soaked and Otisthedog looked liked a drowned rat :D
We've had some awful weather here too. Tonight we had thunderstorms with hail and just to the south of us (in a county I lived in 5 yrs ago) there was a tornado warning with the winds doing their circular stuff above the ground but no touch down.I hope your weather settles down, happy. Otisthedog must have looked a sight!
Tornados are scary things! Luckily I've never had the oppurtunity to experience one. The mountians around here make them extreemly rare.
It has been absolutely perfect here! Low 80s, minimal breeze. Amazing! Unfortunately for my six year old it suppose to rain and storm all weekend. On Thursday she's leaving for a 10 day camping trip with my in-laws. I am counting down the days until the twinkers are old enough to go with.
112 and counting here in the desert!!
Bobby wrote: "112 and counting here in the desert!!"Barf.
Too hot.
Now I remember why I don't live in Arizona :)
Someone wrote in the library book I am reading. I hate when people do that.
Really? I kinda like it. I find it curious what people decide to put in them.
This particular person has crossed out words they didn't understand and got out a thesaurus to put different words in their place.
Writing in a library book is barbarity.
lolI haven't seen that before. Sounds fun, like a 'how to dumb down a book' lesson. Or maybe they're practicing on how to be an author?? I've seen a few books where that's what it looked like the author did, use the Therarus a lot.
Gretchen wrote: "This particular person has crossed out words they didn't understand and got out a thesaurus to put different words in their place."Lols
Gretchen wrote: "This particular person has crossed out words they didn't understand and got out a thesaurus to put different words in their place."That is pretty bizarre. Did the replacement words work better, or did it dumb down the book?
Did the person do it throughout the book? That could get tedious.
Somebody should do that to a copy of Wolf Hall... using an Urban dictionary... put some soul into it!
Gretchen wrote: "This particular person has crossed out words they didn't understand and got out a thesaurus to put different words in their place."Ouch!
This was the first thing my parents taught me when I learned how to read: no writing, no highlighting, no page ear-marking, use a bookmark so you don't damage the spine. They loved books :)
Thank you mom + dad.
Bought The Odyssey recently, 2nd hand. Must have belonged to some college kid, with all kind of markings. Who knows, I might learn something? :)
Eileen wrote: "Gretchen wrote: "This particular person has crossed out words they didn't understand and got out a thesaurus to put different words in their place."That is pretty bizarre. Did the replacement wor..."
It's about every other page and it does take away from the book. For example the person crossed out the word capacious and replaced it with roomy. It's getting to the point where I'm going to bring the book back and order another copy.
Ioana wrote: "Gretchen wrote: "This particular person has crossed out words they didn't understand and got out a thesaurus to put different words in their place."
Ouch!
This was the first thing my parents taugh..."
I am guilty of writing all over my college textbooks but I paid over $300 for some of those bad boys.
Andy wrote: "Somebody should do that to a copy of Wolf Hall... using an Urban dictionary... put some soul into it!"I liked Wolf Hall.
I don't mind writing in a book as long as it doesn't change the character of the book or become intrusive. To my way of thinking, replacing words becomes intrusive and changes the character of a book.I did a lot of writing in my own books, never in library books, and love going back a few years later and seeing what I wrote. Now when I go back and read a book I first read in college it helps me remember who I was and what I thought was important.
Some of the second hand books I buy have writing in them but mostly the "Classics". My copy of The Divine Comedy is the one that springs to mind first. I found it interesting to read the translator's notes and then what was obviously what a professor was saying written down word for word in the margins. However I think that would drive me crazy reading a 'pleasure book'. I even turn off the 'see highlights by other readers' option in my kindle because I don't want someone telling me to pay more attention to some lines than to others.
Ancient & Medieval Historical Fiction
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They are good now. Mentally scarred, but home safe and sound.
They were on a trip out in the desert (what tourists would call Outback..:)..) in the Off Road Caravan a few weeks back. Mum went in to start the dinner. Started the gas stove top ignition and the van blew up. Threw her 5 metres.
She is okay. nasty burns on her hands and on one ear where her hair melted to her ear.
They were stranded in the desert for a week or so as they had all their rescued gear out of the Caravan and no way to transport it home. Plus dad went into something called Global Amnesia from the shock the day after it happened. He didn't know where he was or how he got there.
Mum couldn't drive them out of there because of her burnt hands and Dad's brain had left the building.
Once he came around (it took a few days) they drove to the nearest major centre 5 hours away and got a U Haul. Went back to where their gear was and came home.
They arrived last week. They are both very traumatised.
We've since discovered via a google search that a Caravan of the same brand and model blew up from the same thing only a few weeks before Mum and dads blew up. Wife was inside that one too. She was also lucky to survive.
I didn't share my situation here as I had that recent drama with fighting with inlaws and then the mother-in-law suddenly being brought down with a weird illness that has nearly killed her. I just didn't want it to seem like my input in A&M was always drama related. :]