September 27, 2026

Work has been work. Nothing new there. I’ve had a lot of cooler time to stock and organize in the last two weeks. I’m enjoying it. And boss has been nice. If she’s not careful I may start liking her. But I still don’t trust her.

Sadly, my car, (Big Bertha Buick) has decided it’s time to retire. In a massively spectacular way. It’s a 1998 and I knew it wouldn’t last forever. But I wasn’t ready yet. On Wednesday, as I was leaving for work (4:30 am very dark still), I heard a loud noise. I stopped and got out to check all tires (which were fine). When I got back in and put the car into gear, I couldn’t push the gas pedal to go. It would roll forward and move in the speed of idle, but unable to go faster.

So I drove around the block and parked in my carport stall, then called Donut Daddy to let him know I would be late. I started walking, he met me two blocks away and drove me the rest of the way to work. It’s only half a mile, but I haven’t had to walk to work in almost 3 years and am out of shape due to illnesses in that time frame.

Bestie’s oldest son took a look at the car and thought perhaps it was the throttle cable or the mechanism that controls the cable. (My brain doesn’t remember the proper name for it) Her husband came over after work and knew before he got to my car that the issue was much bigger and worse than that. To put it simply, I own a Buick sized paperweight. The engine cradle broke from the frame. It completely rusted out. There is no fixing that.

So I have to sell it to a junkyard. And I am very sad. I love that car. It was the first thing completely mine that I bought after coming back to Iowa (aside from my cell phone). So it’s back to walking to and from work for me. Which is a blessing and a curse, considering winter is coming. I have all the proper winter gear except boots.

I took pto for Friday, because my daughter had an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon at the University of Iowa clinic. Bestie drove us, which was a relief, both with my car situation and the fact that I despise driving in big cities… because people drive like maniacs and don’t always adhere to the rules of the road.

My daughter was born with a genetic condition called Legg-Calve Perthes disease. It only affects her left hip. But it is painful and considered rare in this day and age. To put it simply, the ball joint at the head of the femur didn’t receive adequate blood supply during growth. Over time, the bone dies off (necrosis) and with a bad blood flow, the new bone growth is slow and inadequate, resulting in a misshapen joint.

The only treatments available to us during her childhood were pain management and muscle strengthening exercises. Trying to keep an energetic child from running and jumping is difficult at best, but now that she’s older she has no problem following restrictions. All doctors refused surgery on the basis of her age. Because artificial hip joints do eventually wear out, and repeated surgeries are difficult due to scar tissue and other complications.

About five years ago she had a job working security at a meat packing plant. It involved a lot of walking, standing and some sitting. She loved that job and would have continued to work there if she hadn’t had a fall, landing on her bad hip. She could no longer work, and that’s when I took over third shift, working with our former roommate/friend.

She spent the next few months on crutches and even got steroid injections into the hip to try and relieve the pain. Eventually she was able to stop using the crutches, but she has not been able to walk long distances or stand for very long. Essentially she has become house bound except for our twice a month trips to the grocery store. Which require a lot of rest afterward and pain medication. As you can imagine, being unable to be active anymore has caused weight gain.

We saw an orthopedic doctor in our town a year ago, who was actually quite knowledgeable. He was not adverse to doing a total hip replacement, but he was uncomfortable with the complications that can arise with an overweight patient. He is the one who recommended we try the Iowa City doctors at the University Hospital.

Since then we switched primary care doctors and our new PA gave her a referral to the Iowa City clinic. I was hopeful but prepared to have to become “momma bear” if I needed to. My daughter is in considerable pain every day and other than her interactions with online friends, has a lower quality life. At only 26 years old.

When the resident came in to speak to us first, after the x-rays, she asked what we have tried for treatment and what I thought our options were at this point. I told her that the only option now is to either continue like we have or to have the hip replaced.

She told me, after viewing the x-rays, that her only suggestion is a total hip replacement. Because of severe deformity, minuscule cartilage remaining and a misalignment of the pelvis. Her femur is also underdeveloped, and her left leg considerably shorter than the right unaffected leg. The surgeon agreed completely and was pleasant to talk to. He relieved a lot of my concerns.

FINALLY. So we have to find a dentist now, to do the dental clearance exam. Because any kind of dental abnormalities (like a cavity) can be cause for possible infection concerns with a big surgery like this.  Then the pre-op bloodwork and they will schedule a date for surgery.

It only requires overnight hospitalization. This is an immediate weight bearing recovery. Two to four weeks with a walker, a few weeks to a couple of months with a cane and clearance at around 3 months to resume all activities, starting off slowly.

We have a couple of medical equipment modifications to do to the apartment (a booster seat for the toilet and a shower chair). There will be restriction rules to follow for recovery but she’s ready for it to be done and get back to an active lifestyle and eventually be able to work again.

I have 93 hours available of paid time off. We get two weeks of pto and a week of sick time added at our anniversary date. Which for me is in February. Other than when I had pneumonia, and a few days here and there, I’ve never taken much time off from work in nearly 5 years there. Thankfully the vacation time rolls over each year if you don’t use it. My health issues will be taken care of after my daughter recovers.

In other news, Bestie and I have had a couple of hours long conference calls this weekend about our business we established in May. We are working on product yes, but now we have a price list and have started a Facebook group page with product images. It’s still set to private until it’s completely set up. Which should be sometime this coming week.

We also have about a hundred ideas for products and not enough time or energy to create them all. I know I should be making more product to sell, but sometimes after a long day at work I want to do mindless crochet while I listen to music, instead of following a pattern or watching a tutorial. Technically a baby blanket is product, because I have no need for anything for young children. My baby is grown LOL

I haven’t worked on my book in about a week. But I will get back to that soon. I also haven’t done a painting in a few weeks but will return to that when inspiration hits and time/energy allows. I don’t have deadlines for any of my projects, so I’ve been learning to be patient with myself and not push through. I have to take care of myself too. I’m not getting any younger. And I push myself enough at work every day.

What I wouldn’t give to be independently well off… not rich, just not having to work at a job to pay bills. I want to do creative things that pay me well enough. Soon, it won’t just be a dream, right?

Anyway, another week starts tomorrow. These three days off flew by and I’m not ready! But I need to go to bed so that I can put on a good performance.

Thanks for reading!

Amanda