Cars, Rentals, and a Change of Plans 10/14/05 in the PM

Of course, we still had to deal with Dalton's disabled car, so we headed out to Monrovia to meet up with the tow truck and get it to the Mercedes dealer downtown. We tried jumping it first to no avail, so when the guy arrived and insisted on trying it himself, we were a bit miffed. To our embarrassment and surprise, it started right up. As I followed D to the dealership, it became clear that things were still out of whack and he nearly had to push it the last two blocks. I fed Iain while Dalton explained the problem to his service advisor. Then he hopped in my car and we headed up Figueroa to his office.

Gasoline has a strong odor.

"Do you smell gas?" Dalton asked me.

"No, not really. I think it's just the smell of downtown traffic."

"I smell gas."

"Yeah, I smell it too."

Off to the Acura dealer I go, praying that the car doesn't explode before I arrive. It becomes clear after a couple of hours that they know there is a leak but don't know where. It appears that the main tank is located right under Iain's carseat, so we will be renting a car for the remainder of the day. Enterprise comes to pick me up and we load up Iain's carseat, the stroller, my computer, and the diaper bag into a minivan and head down the street to fill out the necessary paperwork. Just as I walk in the door, my phone rings and it's Dr. DeMeester's office. Alice has the dates for the testing:

Tuesday, 10/18 10:15am PET Scan
Wednesday, 10/19 7am Esophageal Ultrasound
Thursday, 10/20 8:45am Follow up appointment to review results

Huh?

This was supposed to take 3 weeks.

I ask somewhat timidly, "Are you guys trying to get Dalton in to surgery before the Dr. leaves for his conference?"

"That's exactly what we are doing," she says, "and we are juggling everyone to make it happen."

So, if everything goes well with the testing, we are now looking at surgery in less than 10 days instead of over 4 weeks. This is amazing. An answer to prayer. And scary as all hell. I call Dalton's primary gastroenterologist, Dennis, to give him an update and he asks me incredulously "How did you get him in to see DeMeester so quickly."

"I have no idea," I reply. And then it hits me. Yes I do, people are praying and God is answering those prayers.