I Keep Breaking Things

I've come to the conclusion this past week that anything I touch will break.

Just over a week ago the autoclave (thing that sterilizes our instruments) at work went kaput. Sometimes it'd get on the fritz if the wiring got too damp underneath it (because of overflow). But you'd let it dry overnight and it'd be fine. I got to work the next morning and it still wouldn't work. I then got it to work but the GFI switch would switch over about mid-cycle. After running surgical packs through 2 half cycles for a few days it totally went. So what happens but they say, "Heidi, get it fixed. Do what you have to do but get it fixed." Why me? Then that's when the goose chase started.

I called the number on the machine and it's been disconnected. Come to find out the man that serviced our autoclave decided to retire within the past year. Ohhh, so that's why a neighboring vet's office called to ask who we have service our autoclave. It's all coming clear to me now. So who do we call now? Ghostbusters?! Don't think so. So.....how about Firelands? Nah, when you call they say they don't have autoclaves. Say what? Right. You're a hospital and don't have autoclaves. I must be talking to a candystriper (is that what they even call them anymore?), can I talk to someone in surgery? After getting hold of a few numbers with the help of a co-worker, I start to make phone calls. I end up leaving a message at one place and talk to some guy at another. They say it sounds like the outlet. So I attempt to move this whopping machine not to just one other outlet but three other outlets to see if it works. Nope. Not the solution. The guy I left a message with ended up calling me back and said he'd be out to look at it that day. Good to go.

He comes out and sees that we need a part. I fumble around to figure out where to get this part. Figure it out, order it, and have it overnighted. Thank God the autoclave knew someone who knew someone because it made it a lot easier for me to figure out who to call to order the part. Remember, this isn't something that I'd normally do. We get the part the next day, I call the guy, he comes back....uh oh. We need another part. I call to order that part. Shoot, they only have 2 when we need 3 and it's pointless to have it overnighted because we need 3. Not to mention it was a Friday, so we had them drop ship for our 3 parts. Tuesday comes and we have the parts. I call the autoclacve guy. He doesn't call back until Wednesday. His schedule was crazy and he was in Columbus. So then Thursday arrives. He comes and we find that the parts ordered do not fit into the old parts. The old parts were somehow placed aftermarket and so once again, we have to order more parts. You've got to be kidding me! I'm ready to give up. We order MORE parts, they arrived today, and I called the guy. So today when I left, the poor autoclave guy was still working on the machine. So we'll have to see what happens.

Next dilemma. I refilled the fixer in our x-ray processor yesterday. During surgery I keep hearing the machine running. Not thinking anything of it, the day passes. Trust me, when you have the issue of the autoclave and trying to figure out how you're going to do surgeries on the only packs you have left, it's easy to overlook. Well, I go in to x-ray to turn the processor off at closing and find that it ate entirely through all the fixer I had mixed earlier. In addition, all the developer was gone too. I wasn't too worried about the developer because I had some left in stock. But considering I had just filled the fixer I had no back up. But, there was some still in the actual processor tank. Whew! My boss comes in and once again says, "You figure it out." Why me again? So going into work today I knew I was faced with another dilemma. After reading the manual and making a few phone calls to verify what I think happened, I think I got it figured out. Only time will tell.

Now, on to the third dilemma. This may take awhile. A couple weeks ago my check engine light came on. Me being the OCD one, I call the dealership and get my car in immediately. I even leave work and set up for David to pick me up. Upon arriving at the dealership the check engine light turns off and they basically tell me they can't do anything unless it's on. Come on, at least make me feel better and look at it. They tell me not to jump the gun on check engine lights and that oftentimes cars diagnose and fix the problems themselves. I continue on and the check engine light comes on and off. By the end of about 2 weeks it's more on than off and on Friday night decide it's time to take it in to the dealership again, and work it into my schedule for Monday morning. That evening my ABS light goes on. I take it to Autozone to have them check it with the analyzer. They print out what it says and can't explain what it means since it was mostly in code. I keep driving my car that night with no significant problems. The next day we go to leave the house in the afternoon and my car is squealing. It's the weirdest thing though because it's squealing when you're driving, NOT when you're breaking. We turn around and head out with David's car. I don't drive it the rest of the weekend and take it to the dealership first thing on Monday. Of course halfway there the squealing stops. Thankfully the ABS and engine light stay on. They find I need 2 new sensors and they tell me they should arrive in 3-5 business days. I continue to drive David's car to be safe. A week goes by and I don't hear from the dealership. However, I do receive a bill in the mail for an oil change. Yeah, the oil change that was to be free with the purchase of the vehicle. And the one I specifically said, "If the free option is still available please change my oil. If not, do not change the oil." Time to make a phone call. Looks like only 1 part have arrived and the other one they said wasn't guaranteed until the 15th of this month. Right, what about that 3-5 business day thing they told me? And how about my oil change? "We'll look into that." The next day I received a call letting me know my part arrived. So this morning we did the ol' dropping off the car with David meeting me at the dealership to drive me home. I was excited to have the car fixed. And better yet they dropped it off at our house before I had to leave for work. Yay! I have my fixed car. Oh, not for too long though.

Upon leaving work I put my car in reverse and backed up. It started to back up then all of a sudden went into neutral while still in reverse gear. Ok, put it in park, try again. Nope. How about turning the car off and trying again. Nope. Alright. It will still drive so away I go. I then pull into a parking lot and try things out. At first it wouldn't reverse and then all the sudden kicked into gear. I mess around with it a little and it seems okay to drive. As I drive I'm paying attention to the gears shift and it sound awful rough. I pick mom up to go out and ask her to pay attention to my car and see if she notices anything...making sure I'm not just crazy. Oh yeah, she notices it and she's not even driving. Even worse, when I shift from park to drive and/or back it's real rough to switch into gear. We continue on with our night. I drop her off at home and when I get back into my car my check engine light is on. Surprise surprise. Guess I'll be making another trip to the dealership monday. And oh yeah, about the oil change....don't know if they ever cleared that up. Guess I'll have to wait and see if I get another bill.

I must admit that this car thing really bums me out. I LOVE my car. And I was even thinking today, "I should write on the blog an Ode To My Aveo." It's been almost a year since I've had it. It's an awesome car. I call it My Skate because it reminds me of the rollerskate at Skate World. Call me crazy if you will, whatever.

I'm sure I've lost you in all of my dilemmas. Sorry and thank you for listening to my woes. Oh yeah, and remember that little plastic piece I was looking for during the power outage...you know, the one for the police radio. I took my work clothes down to the basement tonight and walk upstairs to see it sitting on the floor of our cellar/pantry. I kid you not...just sitting there out in the middle of the floor. I just had to smile and think to myself once again, "You've got to be kidding me." Ah well...God's just keeping me on my toes. Keep smiling Heidi. Everything will be okay in the end. If it's not okay, it's not the end.