The day I accidentally rented a brand-new rag-top Mustang
We made arrangements for a friend to come over and take care of our house and dog while we would be away for almost a full week
We had a massive scare. Pam had a fall and ended up in hospital. When they did the CT scan in Emergency, they discovered a 5 cm ‘opacity’ in her lung. They couldn’t be sure what it was, so out of an abundance of caution, they booked her in for a series of tests in Vancouver at the BC Cancer Agency.
The thoracic surgeon heading up the tests wanted us to wait until Pam was more mobile and, as the date approached, we became increasingly convinced that this was stage two lung cancer. We were basically hoping that the PET scan in Vancouver would show that the cancer was confined to the lung. If it had spread, then it would be immediately classed as stage four.
We made arrangements for a friend to come over and take care of our house and dog while we would be away for almost a full week. Due to complications from the fall, Pam would be using a wheelchair and I would be accompanying as her medical escort.
I started phoning around for hotels close enough to the agency to walk. The prices were outrageous! Like $400-plus with no food involved. On such short notice, all the subsidized places like the Easter Seals House were totally booked months in advance. I told Pam that “This is ridiculous — we could get an executive suite at the River Rock Casino cheaper than this!”
That is exactly what we ended up doing. It was a gorgeous suite, but it posed a new problem. Getting Pam from Richmond to West Broadway every day — in a wheelchair — on the SkyTrain — on time! Some of the appointments were really early in the morning and, I have to admit, we kind of live on “Yukon Time” out here in Mendenhall.
Some really great friends of ours, who also live here in Mendenhall, came over one evening for a couple of drinks and a visit while I was knee-deep in planning the logistics. I know Vancouver and the lower mainland very well after living down there in my previous life and our friend actually grew up there.
She said, “That’s ridiculous. Even though there’s a SkyTrain stop at the hotel, you’ll have two transfers, multiple elevators and by the time all is said and done, you’ll be spending about $50 a day on tickets … just rent a car.”
We didn’t feel that we could afford to rent a car but she suggested, just put it on your points card!
Uh-oh! The seed had been planted.
The next day I visited my card account to see what I could rent on points and by the end of the day I had “accidentally” rented a brand-new rag-top Mustang on points. Not a dime involved.
That night I woke up in terror about 3 a.m. and couldn’t get back to sleep. My concern was whether or not I could fit the wheelchair into the trunk of the Stang.
When Whitehorse Motors opened up the next morning I called our good friend Jens and asked him. He was absolutely great. He went outside and took a cell phone video of one on his lot. He showed me the back seat and said “You don’t want to put it in there, it’ll trash the leather,” then opened up the trunk and said “There’s more room in here than the back of your Focus, so if it fits in the Focus, you’ll be good to go.”
Amazing. Thanks, Jens!
Air North was fantastic getting us down to YVR and making special arrangements for Pam and her chair. You should have seen us at the airport! Me pushing Pam and Pam pushing the baggage cart with all of our luggage. It must’ve looked hilarious. I left Pam sitting in the sun and went to pick up the car.
Wow! It really was a brand-new rag-top. Absolutely gorgeous.
I brought it around to arrivals to pick up Pam. The first thing I did was crack the plastic on the owner’s manual to see how to lower the roof. It was a glorious day and I managed to get the top down without a hitch.
People were staring at us as I loaded Pam in the front seat, our luggage in the back and popped the trunk to load the wheelchair.
Oh no! The rag-top was slightly different than the car Jens had shown me, with the box that held the top, of course. I fumbled and fussed, mused and mulled — but finally, using my love for Tetris, I was able to figure out the only way that the chair would fit and we were off.
What a week we had. The car and suite were definitely part of the highlights. Of course, staying at the River Rock, I had to go visit the casino. I was seated at anchor on one of the $5 blackjack tables and telling tall tales about living in Dodge and playing anchor at Diamond Tooth Gerties. And it was working. Through my playing we were all up!
They changed out the dealer four times in 45 minutes but we all kept winning. Finally this no-nonsense dealer came in and changed the mood. We all started losing immediately. After a couple of hands, I looked at the other players and said “I’ve seen this MO before, I’m outta here!”
The real Mendenhall Miracle was that Pam’s PET scan showed that the opacity had vanished. When the oncologist started asking some very strange questions, we got hopeful. When the radiologist cancelled the CT simulation for radiation therapy, we were over the moon. We still had the biopsy to do, but things were looking great.
We got in the Stang, put the top down and whizzed down to White Rock for a stroll on the boardwalk and pier, plus tacos and a beer on the waterfront. It was funny, on the way down I could see some construction up ahead and … well, being in a Mustang, I didn’t want to be at the back of the line. So I kinda, uhm, overtook everyone, so I’d be in front.
Being the good Yukoner that I am, I slowed right down as I approached the construction zone, which appeared to make a lot of the people behind me very unhappy. But, as we entered the construction zone, there was a cop with a radar gun. I could feel the relief from the people behind me as not a single one of them got a speeding ticket.
The next day, we went for the biopsy and the respirologist cancelled it outright, saying that there’s nothing to test — the opacity was absolutely gone! We had won the lottery!
Going from being convinced that we were dealing with at least stage two cancer, hoping it wasn’t stage four, to being 100 percent free was an incredible moment.
So we put the top down and did the Sea-to-Sky highway to Whistler and back. What a drive! That was funny as well. I had my phone paired to the car and during the ride it rang. It was physio in Whitehorse trying to set up some appointments for Pam.
The lady said, “I’m having a bit of trouble understanding you.” I slowed down a bit and told her that we were in a rag-top Mustang on the Sea-to-Sky highway. She said, “Well that makes me a little jealous, I’ll call you back on Monday when you’re back home.”
The other miracle of the trip was that even though this was during the first week of October, the weather was sunny and in the mid 20s all week. We actually hit 30 in Whistler.
While we were cruising Whistler, we stopped for a group of school kids crossing the road and one young fella looked at me, stuck both hands up in the air and yelled “Man! I love your car!” It made our day even better.
I’ll admit that when we got back home and climbed into our F-150, it felt a little clunky and square, also in need of a good cleaning! But it was nice to be home. Pulling into Mendenhall and our driveway after the hubbub and congestion of Vancouver never looked so good. And a new lease on life was the cherry on top!
