Not A Blog™

The physical therapy continues as I enter week 25. Last week I began the first regular exercise I’ve had since breaking my leg. The therapists put me on an exercise bike as well as leg strengthening machines, and I’ve been cleared to do additional exercise on my own: again, anything that doesn’t put weight on my left foot. I’m very conscious about that right now because the last major step is having that screw removed.

Aside from my regular recovery stuff, I also had to take a class last week. It was really a series of presentations—rather than a “class” in the traditional educational sense—which comprised the Transition Assistance Program, or TAP for short. For the most part it was good information, although I think this is more due to the fact that there was just a lot of information period, and so some was bound to be good simply due to the laws of statistics.

Most of what they put out the first day didn’t apply to me, but the second day focused solely on VA benefits and related sundries, so I’m glad I was there for that. It’s unlikely I’ll be chronicling my dealings with the VA, since that’ll be something which happens after I return home and stop the weekly updates. Still, it’s something that has to happen.

My otherwise positive week took a turn for the worse as soon as I got out of TAP class on Friday afternoon. I had plans to head home for a Halloween party and visit a few people over the weekend. The car was packed ahead of time so I could take off immediately after class. I hobble out, jump in the car and—it doesn’t start.

Figures.

It’s the worst feeling in the world when your car doesn’t start. Even in my case where I just got it, and so shouldn’t be too surprised at encountering a problem. Well after a lot of worrying and trying to figure out what was wrong, we decided to try jumping it. (I know next to nothing about cars, but the consensus of people who understand mechanics better than I was that the clicking sound we heard came from an underpowered starter.) I was rather surprised when it actually worked.

I took it to the shop on base with the intention of leaving it there over the weekend so they could check it out. On a whim, I tried starting it again after I parked it and it started right up. I did that three more times, and the car started perfectly. Thinking it might have been a fluke, I decided to take my chances and drive home. Fortunately I was able to start it every time I needed to over the weekend, although I heard it crank slowly a few times. It’s something I need to have looked at as soon as possible (a huge hassle), but hopefully it’s nothing more than a weak battery.

I like to think there will come a time when I stop running into these sorts of extremely annoying problems, but that seems to be par for the course on this deployment. In fairness, my car not starting is much less of a problem than having a broken leg, but it is still a problem. It’s just another thing I’ll have to try and take care of next week.

-Ted