Structural issues (and the reason I wasn't so active for a while)

[Second Chance]

As we were traveling west across west Texas mid-February, we stopped for a night and I discovered that the floor at the back of the dinette slide (curb side on the 337) was bowing/sagging below the back end wall of the slide. The black plastic trim had popped out and had allowed a little water from a recent rain to intrude and wet the flooring material of the slide a bit at that back edge. Our destination was Las Cruces, NM, for a month's stay near family, so I got out the Gorilla tape and made sure the area was weather-tight before moving on the next morning.

Upon arriving in Las Cruces, I contacted Richard's RV Service and Richard came out to take a look. He found that a number of the screws going through the trim at the bottom of the back slide wall into the sub-floor had sheared off. (I've read other posts on the forum where this is happening as a result of over torquing the screws at the factory.) Richard also found that the slide seals - both sweeps and bulbs - were in much worse shape than they should have been on a properly maintained unit that's not yet three years old. I called GD Customer Service (initially about just the floor joint issue) and, since there is a three-year structural warranty, a case number was created and GD said they would cover the repairs. As Richard communicated with GD reporting his findings and developing a game plan, he discussed the seals with them and the seals were added to the warranty case number. It took about two months to get everything done - partly due to the fact that GD sent the wrong seals the first time (for 1-1/2" thick walls rather than the 2" walls on the Reflection). The new seals are a different design and from a different supplier. The sweeps flip in and out on their own, which the OEM seals were reluctant to do, and seem to be a better material, design and fit.

Now, for my near-complete absence from the forum for a while (bear with me). We pulled in to Las Cruces on 18 February with plans to stay a month and help my sisters care for our 87 y.o. mother who is in poor health. She wasn't doing well when we arrived and, unfortunately, was admitted to the hospital about a week after we got here. After about a week in the hospital, she was discharged to a rehab facility for a three week stay and then back to assisted living.

We extended our stay here (yes - we're still in Las Cruces) due to Mom's situation and to have some extra time for a visit by our daughter and the three youngest grandkids from Baltimore. They had visited Arizona last year but had never been to New Mexico. Our son-in-law is a pilot for Southwest, so they fly for free (space available) whenever they like. Here's where all the plans started to derail. Our daughter and at least one of the grandkids had "colds" when they arrived. Five days in close proximity and in the vehicles driving around NM seeing the sights and Nona and Grandpa Rob ended up sick. I could barely breathe when I drove them back to the El Paso airport on a Friday. By Sunday, Laura and I were both so sick we went to the nearest urgent care center where we were both diagnosed with Flu B (by swab test), given Tamiflu - although too late to do any good - and sent home.

Things only went downhill from there. On Thursday, Laura contacted one of my sisters and asked for help. My brother-in-law, a veterinarian, showed up with a mask on, masks for us, and the truck windows down to transport us back to the UCC. On arrival there, my temp was 103.6. Laura's was 103.2 but her BP was tanking, heart rate increasing, and she became delirious in the waiting room. In other words (and unfortunately this old Army nurse recognized this and it scared the sh!t out of me), she was exhibiting symptoms of shock and, under the circumstances, likely septic shock. We both had pneumonia. After triage and initial treatment at the UCC, Laura was transported by ambulance to the ED at one of our two local hospitals where the pneumonia diagnosis held up and the sepsis was confirmed with blood cultures. Having had one wife transported by ambulance and not survive, you can imagine that a tinge of PTSD reared its ugly head.

Laura's delirium lasted for three of her five days in the hospital and she's just now, three and a half weeks after discharge, getting back to something close to normal. While Laura was in the hospital, I came back to the rig with oral antibiotics and spent the first three nights soaking the bed sheets to the point where they could have been wrung out. I barely had the energy to drive myself up to the hospital each day to spend some time with Laura and try to convince her that neither of us was going to die. Fortunately, there was light at the end of that particular tunnel and we are both feeling much better now. We are both starting to get "hitch itch" and hope to be on the road again in the next two to four weeks. Unfortunately, rather than meandering north and making our way through Colorado before heading to Cincinnati to visit our son and DIL who live there, we'll probably need to head back to the Augusta, GA, area for follow-ups with our regular health care providers. I guess plans are what we make before life intervenes - but we're glad to be back among the living.

Rob

[SouthTX]

Glad to hear you're both on the mend. Take care of yourselves.

[TucsonJim]

Wow Rob. I can only imagine what was going through your head when the ambulance rolled away. I'm really glad to hear you're all on the mend and will hit the road again soon.

Jim

[Steve7]

Rob, I’m really glad you both recovered. Darn kids and colds! Take care of yourselves and get back on road when capable.

[gbkims]

Rob, very glad you and Laura got thru that nasty illness.

Gene

[BabyBober]

Rob, glad to hear you both are doing well now. As you know enjoy today and make sure to tell your better half you love her because you never know what tomorrow will bring..

Jim

[SteveTN]

Rob, so sorry to hear that you and Laura have been so ill. Very glad to hear that you two are on the mend. God bless and safe travels!


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[Aridon]

Wow, what a crazy run of events for you both. Glad to hear you're doing better health wise. Without our health we have nothing. Hope you get your rig fixed as well. If you happen to have an pictures of the damage I think a few of us would love to see them.

Continued recovery for you both!

[LCBoyer]

Wow! I am sorry to hear about all your trouble, but happy things are looking up! I hope to see y’all soon!

[kevinpo]

Rob,
Glad to hear you and the wife are doing better! You never know when life it going to throw you a curve ball. Times like these are when you realize how valuable good health is. Normally you just take it for granted until something like this happens.

Hoping for a speedy and full recovery,
Kevin