If Anthony had gone below that 76% oxygen, I was ready to call an ambulance.
He didn't, but I was still worried.
In the morning, his numbers were better, but nothing close to ideal numbers.
It was crazy to fathom since we had gotten a cardiac check the month before our trip.
The cardiologist was from Denver originally (25 years!) and felt Anthony's heart looked good for the trip, even going through Colorado.
First thing, besides checking Anthony's oxygen, was calling our warranty people and AAA.
I was on the phone in the parking lot for 2-3 hours that morning.
AAA was PHENOMENAL!!
They could get a tow truck out and get the van towed to either Denver (direction we wanted to head) or Steamboat Springs (back an hour).
Any of the 3 possible ways out of Hot Sulphur Springs involved crossing over a minimum 10,000 ft. elevation pass.
We were landlocked, literally.
When I talked with the cardiologist in Seattle the night before, he agreed with me that the best thing for Anthony would be to get him over a pass as soon as we possibly could, so we could be near real medical facilities.
At the time, I was seriously worried we'd have to be flown out in a helicopter.
AAA made special arrangements because our whole family was traveling together.
They normally only arrange for the driver and maybe another person to be transported with the car being towed.
Because of our situation, they were willing to provide transportation for the entire family, so we could stay together.
They knew about Anthony's medical situation, and wanted to make sure everything could go as smooth as possible for us.
AAA contacted a tow truck driver an hour away from us, in Steamboat Springs.
He was supposed to figure out transport for all of us.
But, his wife is a pediatric nurse and after AAA explained the situation, he and his wife decided they couldn't risk a possible medical emergency on the pass.
He wouldn't be willing to transport Anthony.
There were 3 mechanics within a 15 minute drive from where we were.
Andy was pretty confident the problem was a simple hose needing replaced, which any mechanic could figure out quickly.
Our warranty (the MAIN reason we bought our van in April) only allows for certified car dealership service centers to work on the van. Otherwise, the warranty is not valid anymore.
Confident the Chrysler Corporation would be as understanding and helpful as AAA, I called them to figure out what we could do.
The most they could/would do was give us addresses for car dealers within the Denver area.
There was NO willingness to allow for a local mechanic to fix the problem.
Actually, the person I talked to QUESTIONED my son's medical condition and if I was being completely truthful.
???!!!
The motel was completely booked already for the night.
So, we had to figure something out before 2 or 3 in the afternoon.
Option A was to have the van towed BACK to Steamboat and have it looked at. If they didn't have the parts in, we'd have to stay there until Tuesday (Friday was when this was all happening), when they could have a part delivered from Denver.
Option B was to have the van towed to Denver and get it fixed if they had time.
We decided to send Andy and Kelly to Denver to get the van fixed.
We sent Kelly with Andy so if he was tired, she could drive.
The car dealer there had a wonderful service center guy who was willing to look at the van as soon as it arrived, so we could hopefully get on our way.
Andy and Kelly waited at the dealer for an hour or two.
The helpful guy was leaving for lunch when they had arrived.
When the van was looked at, it was a hose that had broken.
Took 15 minutes to fix/replace.
And $300.
Our warranty co-pay for things like this is $100, when it's a covered service.
The Chrysler people said they hadn't created a file for service, they just thought we needed towing and created a file for that.
???!!!
I AM NOT IMPRESSED AND DO NOT RECOMMEND A CHRYSLER VEHICLE IF YOU ARE PURCHASING FOR THE WARRANTY ASPECT.
I do recommend AAA and give them a shout out for their amazing help and willingness to help us.
Andy and Kelly drove back over the pass to pick us up.
While we had waited for them, the kids watched tv.
I was on the phone for so many hours that day.
While Kelly and Andy were gone, I was on the phone trying to figure out having oxygen come with us when we did go over the pass.
The cardiologist in Seattle wasn't willing to prescribe oxygen, saying that if Anthony needed it, he needed to go to a local health office...not any where we were going!
The oxygen provider in the next town over was willing to help any way she could as well.
But, with no prescription, we didn't need her help after all.
I felt so bad to have called and tried to arrange things when our own cardiologist wouldn't support that idea.
The cardiologist the night before suggested driving over the pass "as fast as we could" if Anthony's numbers started plummeting.
Not reassuring.
The owner of Ute Trail Motel was so nice.
She knew about our situation, was more than happy to let us use her phone as much as we needed, and cleaned all her other rooms before getting to ours, so we could have more time to wait.
She extended the check out time by several hours, until she logically couldn't anymore because it needed to be made ready for the next lodger.
We ended up leaving our luggage in the office and walking a few blocks to Mini's Cafe for dinner.
Right when we arrived at Mini's and came in the door, a downpour of monsoon proportions happened.
We were safe while the water rushed down the hill!
The cook at the cafe drives her motorcycle from a town 15 minutes away.
She was relieved when the rain stopped.
And then we got to watch the delightful hummingbirds feeding at the windows. :)
After the cafe closed at 7, we walked back up to the motel parking lot and sat at the picnic table for an hour or so.
The motel owner was concerned for us and had checked out room availability in the next town, near a medical facility.
There weren't any, so she called another hotel in the town before Hot Sulphur Springs.
When Andy and Kelly finally got back to pick us up, he had no desire to backtrack, and agreed with me that the best direction to travel would be toward Denver, where Anthony could get the best medical help if he needed it.
So we started driving.
We didn't want to drive over a high, dangerous pass in the dark if there was a chance for a medical emergency.
So we stopped in the largest village before the pass because there was a small hospital within 20 minutes.
Winter Park, Colorado is a nice ski village.
It's also often sold out of hotel rooms, and the rooms that are available are expensive!
We found one of those available rooms, and thought it would be good to have everyone go swim since we'd been immobile and stressed most of the day.
When we go swimming or Anthony is at swim therapy, he puts water in his mouth, then fountain-spits it out.
He could barely gurgle any out of his mouth that night.
His skin was mottled, and his color wasn't quite right, again.
I took him out of the pool after less than a minute, and went to check his numbers.
Bad again.
Not bad enough for an ambulance, but when the rest of the family got back, Andy and I brought him to the ER 20 minutes away.
They gave him oxygen overnight and did a few chest x-rays to make sure there wasn't any fluid on the lungs, which can happen a lot with altitude sickness.
The children were in the room at Olympia Lodge at Winter Park, and we were in the ER overnight.
The Olympia Lodge is nice, clean, and spacious.
But, they are probably due for a remodel, and cost a LOT.
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