Support a Journey Home After Car Trouble

Help me get home! On Christmas, I started my 20-hour journey with my dog to visit my daughter in Columbus, Ohio. On the second day of my trip, my engine started overheating. No big deal, I thought, as my car is still under warranty. I made it safely to a motel in West Memphis, AR, and requested a tow at 9 am the next day (Friday). The tow truck arrived at 5:46 after the service department at the Kia dealership in Memphis had closed. I called the dealership the next morning, making sure it got there safely, knowing they were only open for quick service on Saturday mornings. It wasn’t there!!! I rented a car and drove to look for it myself, thinking it was just a mistake. It wasn’t there!!!

Covington Pike is row after row of dealerships. I checked out several and no luck. I called the tow truck company, who insisted that they dropped my car off at 1990 Covington Pike (Kia is 1900), and the driver took a photo of himself dropping the keys in the drop box. I drove to 1990—a Honda dealership. They told me they don’t even have a drop box. My car wasn’t there. The Kia dealership closed at noon. I cried in the parking lot, feeling hopeless and powerless.

My daughter had been experiencing a mental health crisis, so it was important for me to get to her. I felt like the mom on Home Alone mixed with poor old Odysseus. I continued my journey to Ohio. Sunday, everything was closed, and I hid under the covers a bit. Monday, the tow truck company realized they dropped my car off at the wrong place and corrected it! Yay! But they wouldn’t be able to look at it until Tuesday.

Then my daughter’s dog, Keiko, began having seizures. She had chronic hepatitis and was also being treated for necrotic tissue on an injury. She made the painful decision to euthanize her that night. We cried together. It was for the best because Keiko was suffering. However, she was such a great dog. It was hard to let her go.

Finally, on Tuesday, I got a call that my car needed a new radiator and cooling fan. It wasn’t covered under my warranty because it looked like I hit something and wasn’t a defect. On Christmas, I did hit an armadillo. I felt terrible committing murder on Christmas. Now I felt annoyed that lil guy was just standing there in the middle of the road when I came over a hill in the dark, and my headlights landed on him too late to avoid him.

It’s going to cost $2200 to fix. And it won’t be ready until Monday at the earliest, which is when I’m supposed to return to work. I can’t return to work. I cannot get home to Texas. I have been using my savings to help my daughter and have little left to help myself. I know the giving season is over, but if you have a few dollars to spare, please consider contributing. This has been the worst week with one unfortunate event after another piling on. I just need a little help to get this new year started.