It's funny how little time it takes to change a person's life around. My last post I was happy to report that I had a new radiator in the old Buick and life was good. Then, in what now seems like a year ago, I made a mistake. I told everyone how stupid it was after it happened, but now that I've had a lot of time to think about it, I really think it should not have happened.
As I mentioned in my last post, I had the new radiator in place, but needed to clean the cooling system by running some clear water with a cooling system cleaner and then drain, refill, etc. So the next day (July 31), I filled it with water and added the cleaner, then ran the car for about twenty minutes, mostly just idling.
I shut off the car and opened the hood. It seemed to be quite warm, but I figured no longer than it had ran, it would be fine to open and proceed with the next step. So I unloosened the cap to bleed off any hot water and/or pressure which had built up. A little hot water came out, but then nothing more. I figured it was safe to open the cap the rest of the way. WRONG!!!
As soon as the cap was in the open position, it blew up and hit the hood with a thud and I was instantly drenched with steaming hot water and cooling system cleaner! The shock caused me to jump back and then I hit the ground. I quickly got back up and removed my shirt which was covered with the extremely hot liquid and ran into the house.
I first went into the bathroom to put some cool water on the affected areas (my arm and side), which did relieve the pain a bit, but not much. I was hurting and I needed some relief fast. I called my daughter first, but didn't get an answer, then I tried my sister and again, no answer. It was Sunday and they were both at church.
I called my daughter's number again and left a message, next I called my neighbor, Kevin and asked if he could get me some help. I didn't really want to call 911, but I guess Kevin figured it was the best course of action as when I went back outside I heard the siren headed my way.
They arrived a short time later and soon we were on our way to the hospital. I won't bore you with all the details, but suffice to say I suffered 3rd degree burns on my arm and side which resulted in a mandatory 4-6 weeks off work. My daughter arrived at the hospital shortly after I got there and it was decided that I would stay with her and her family during this time which is exactly what happened.
Prior to this event I had been thinking a lot about early retirement and ways I could accomplish this goal. Of course after this happened, it made more sense than ever, so with the help of my daughter and her fiance (Randy), this goal has been mostly realized.
I still have to go to wound care 3 times a week and they say that will probably be required for a couple more weeks, but I have a new place here in Seymour, Indiana and I have received my retirement packet from the USPS, which I will be sending in shortly. All in all I am very happy with the way things turned out.
Of course none of this would have been possible without the help of my family, mostly Autumn and Randy and the kids (who have put up with me for the last 5 weeks), but also to everyone else who helped along the way, I just want to sent a big THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart. You have helped make an old man very happy.
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