The strangest thing happened this week…
After work Wednesday night I headed down to the river to fire up for a night of Portland Boat Tours. I rushed home, hitched up the trailer, and backed the boat in the water just like countless other nights this summer. I saw my 5 passengers patiently watching me as I got the boat ready for a busy night of showing people the river. This Wednesday was different though.
This time, when I turned on the motor, I did my usual inspections and discovered the telltale stream of water that is meant to be “peeing” from the motor was missing. It wasn’t even dripping. I knew I couldn’t run the motor for very long like that or risk overheating.
I tried a few things, all the while my increasingly anxious passengers looked on as their departure time came closer and closer. I just couldn’t get any cooling water to flow.
I was sad. It was a beautiful night with a slate full of bookings and I was really looking forward to spending some relaxing time on the water after the stress of this particularly rough week. I had to tell my passengers that I couldn’t take them on their tour safely tonight. That’s the first time in two years I’ve ever had to cancel anyone. I was heartbroken.
I had to do some quick work to make phone calls and cancel my other tours for the night. Everyone was understandably frustrated but understood the situation. I knew with my upcoming hospital stay and surgery that I’d be canceling some tours and ending my season early but I hadn’t expected it this early (or for it to be a surprise).
When I got the boat home, I ripped apart the lower unit, expecting to find a damaged water pump impeller which I’d simply replace with my spare. What I discovered when I opened the housing though was an impeller in perfect condition just as I’d installed it a few months ago.
I put the motor all back together and ran it in the driveway in a bucket of water. It ran perfectly. A nice, strong stream of water immediately shot out of the telltale indicating everything was okay.
The next day, my neurosurgeon told me I shouldn’t be boating anymore. He said going over a wake and jarring my back the wrong way could make the tumor press against my nerves and cause me to lose bowel and bladder function and strength to be able to stand on my toes. (Now THAT would have been an embarrassing tour)!
Now I’m thankful for that glitch Wednesday night that caused me to not cause further injury in my back. I still don’t have any idea why the water pump didn’t work though. I have to wonder if it was a God thing…
Today’s Update:
I arrived at OHSU last night and the team immediately went to work getting more CAT scans, ultrasounds, and blood work. Today (Monday) is the biggest day. I am headed into surgery to perform a biopsy on the tumor in my spine. This will tell us where to go from here. Thank you all for your prayers and notes of encouragement. I appreciate every one.
