Brad and I have talked about doing a cross country road trip for as long as I have known him. We always said when the kids were old enough we would do it. Little did we know this would be our year! We researched and looked into renting an RV and after learning that you have to pay by the mile, pay for generator hours used, pay for the rental, and their insurance, we figured out it would be much cheaper to buy an RV. We started talking and decided to look. We ended up finding our RV and went to test drive it that day. We wanted to think about it over the weekend and went back that following week (Valentines Day) and decided to buy it. So began the start of our adventure.
The trip planning started and by trip planning I mean the dates set in place and starting to get things we would need to have on the RV. We set our dates for May 27th to June 24th. I found an app called Roadtrippers and it has been the most amazing app to use in planning this trip. I paid for the full version so I could have full access to everything and its been awesome.
Fast forward to May (the craziest month ever) - my parents house was under contract and they would be closing the day before we left for our trip. Benjamin had 8th grade graduation, followed by an 8th grade trip that I was a meal mom for. So I too went on the trip. My parents had a closing on the property where they moved to while their home is being built. I had to do Eden's end of the year ice cream party, we had Elijahs school program, Edens school program, and Elijah's piano recital. I also had to get everyone packed and ready for the RV trip and have separate bags for the two older boys packed and ready because they leave to go to church camp the day after we get home etc. etc. It was SO BUSY!
So, today was the day, our BIG RV TRIP! We finished loading up and getting everything on the RV, picked up Caleb at school and headed out for the trip of a lifetime ( in our opinion) with the kids. Oh and by the way we have not made any reservations (other than 1 for a place in Southern Colorado at the sand dunes)
We left at 12:45 pm and headed towards the first state we would cross into- Georgia. Little did we know what was coming for us.
I got on the Roadtrippers app and started looking at making some reservations. I found a place to stay for our first stop in Tupelo, MS. Then planned out day two and made a reservation in Oklahoma. The traffic in Atlanta wasn't too bad but started to pick up as we headed towards Birmingham. I had just pressed the reserve button when I looked up and saw Brad all the sudden put his hand up by his chest. I was in the back at the table and he leaned forward some and I thought he was about to start coughing. I realized he was having a hard time breathing. I started to ask him if he was ok and he said NO but wouldn't tell me what was wrong. I kept asking him to pull over (there was a really wide shoulder where they were putting in new lanes but they were completed and I kept trying to get him to just pull to the side.) He wouldn't pull over, but also wouldn't tell me what was going on. He was in obvious pain and having a hard time breathing. He finally took an exit and I could tell it was taking everything for him to concentrate. The exit he took exited off into a traffic circle and was an exit of all homes and neighborhoods. There was NOWHERE to stop. Finally at a traffic light I told him to put it in park and let me drive. He finally complied and got out and I jumped in the seat. He laid down in the floor moaning and hurting. We came to another traffic light and I decided to turn down a road thinking it would lead somewhere we could stop. It didn't. It led around in a circle back to the road we came off of. Not to mention it also had low hanging power lines that were hitting the top of the RV. We got to a stoplight at the end of the road and while waiting for it to turn green, the RV locked up. It wouldn't start or do anything. We were completely broken down. I finally just put it in park and called 911. The fire department, EMS, and police all showed up. They immediately lifted his shirt and dry shaved his chest to put leads on him to run an EKG. He was surrounded by people asking him questions, asking me questions etc.(He later said that he was concentrating so hard on trying to get the RV off the interstate and his mind was so foggy. He also doesn't remember a lot of the stuff leading up to or during everything.) One of the worst parts, other than what was going on with Brad, was that Caleb was just standing there in the RV crying. I kept saying "Caleb he is going to be ok" and he would just shake his head no. I couldn't get to him to hug him and it was terrible. The other 3 kids were in the back room with the dog and the door closed. As they were getting Brads breathing calmed down as much as possible they were able to get him on a stretcher and into the ambulance.
Once they got him on a stretcher they got the kids off the RV because it wasn't working and getting hot and put them in the firetruck while we figured out what to do with the RV.
The firemen told me to go ahead and call an UBER because they couldn't fit us in the fire truck and the police cars couldn't hold a carseat due to the bars in the back. So I got on and got an UBER. The driver arrived and we got everything into his car, got Edens carseat all installed, which if you have ever installed a carseat, you know it should qualify as an olympic sport. The guys helping us with the tow truck etc. asked me to call one place before I left to see about getting the RV worked on. I made the call and it was not going to work. In the meantime the Uber driver decided to tell me he no longer had time to take us to the hospital so I told the kids to get out of the car, I unbuckled the carseat with Eden still in it and set her on the ground and then once I had everything I looked at him and said "you would think that you could show a little grace and kindness to someone who is not from here, my husband just went by ambulance to the hospital thinking he was having a heart attack and our RV broke down and I am stranded with 4 kids and a dog. You are incredibly selfish." He still charged me the $25 for the Uber ride and an additional $15 for a cancelation fee. I didn't know what to do, I couldn't think of anyone I knew who lived in the Atlanta area. Then I remembered that my friend from high school, Joseph lived in the area. I texted him to see if it was close to where I was. I told him what happened and 20 min. later he was there. In the midst of all of this it was so comforting to have someone who I know be there. It may have been 17 years since I last saw him, but it made me feel so much better having him there to help. In the meantime, Brad has contacted me from the hospital and was doing well. He was still very foggy and not thinking straight. He kept telling me to call AAA, but the people helping me already had a tow truck on the way. After 10 attempts to find anyone who could help us with the RV, I finally called AAA. They sent someone out to test the battery and alternator. Turns out our battery was 8 years old and we think it just couldn't hold a charge.
Brad called that he was being released from the hospital and the doctors really don't know what happened. He said the tiniest bit of indigestion can cause pain and trigger the body to start a panic attack on top of it, so they think that whatever caused the initial sharp pains, it also caused a panic attack in addition to it. Luckily he was going to be fine, but there was no real explanation.
In the long run it was a blessing we broke down where we were. The neighbors were so kind and stopped to see if we needed water or if the kids needed to go to the bathroom. She even offered to make them peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Later on she and her son came out to see if they could give us rides to the hospital. The AAA guy was able to change out the battery and $201 and a little while later we were on our way to a home 2 suite by Hilton hotel. How crazy that we spent the first night of our RV trip in a hotel. Ha Ha how ironic! We made it to the hotel and I only hit 1 curb pulling in. This was only the 2nd time I have ever driven the RV and I am sure its not the last curb I will hit. As I was checking in at the hotel Brad walked in and looked awful! Poor guy! He had the stickers from the EKG still attached, he had no shoes because they took him to the hospital without them, so he was wearing bright blue hospital socks and he looked like he hadn't slept in days.
We got checked in, sent Brad up to the room, got the kids and dog fed and we all crashed! The exhaustion was real! I will say I am really proud of myself because I didn't panic at all or lose it throughout all of this. I held it together for the kids and figured out what needed to be figured out. I feel like I am able to handle really high stress situations well, but when it comes to silly things I lose my cool so easily. Thankfully everything turned out ok and Brad was fine. They sent him on with a prescription for potassium and a "we don't really know what happened." We are just thankful everything is ok. We will continue on! Tomorrow is a new day!
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