On grounds of good behaviour (or possibly because I was actually considered well enough) I was released from hospital yesterday.
I have to return to hospital on 11 April for what I hope will be the last visit in this 7 month 'episode'. So I decided to undertake the 8+ hour journey home today to re-charge my batteries. As always I left a good margin for unexpected happenings. It was a very good thing that I did.
It's also very fortunate for me, the Volvo and possibly other people, that I had fitted tyre pressure warning devices. As I was about 12 miles from Perth the alarm went off - my offside front tyre had suddenly lost significant pressure. I could see no obvious nail or problem so re-inflated the tyre and drove, albeit fairly gingerly, to Perth and found a helpful private tyre supplier. On the inside wall of the offside front tyre (ie where it could not be seen) was a huge blister about to blow out. Which could have caused loss of control of the vehicle at 70 mph.
Replacing one tyre means the other on the same axle has to be replaced too. That was very fortunate because there was a cut of over 12" in the circumference of the tread of the nearside tyre (which looked like it had been deliberately cut with a Stanley knife).
An hour later I was on my way with two new front tyres having avoided what could have been a fairly catastrophic morning.
I caught the ferry and I'm home. I shall sleep tonight.
Lesson:
Had I not had the alarm which told me the tyre was deflating after it had lost 5 psi and bearing in mind I had been driving for over an hour on 70mph roads a blow-out could have proved fatal to me and anyone else caught up if the car had become out of control. I reckon the cost of that tyre warning system was possibly the best value for money I've had for a long time.
That sounds horrific. I remember once driving on the motorway down to Toulouse, when the car started to shudder slightly. I eventually stopped and found part of the inner tube poking out from a long gash in a tyre. The tyre had lost no pressure. I replaced it with the spare.
ReplyDeleteAh, Cro, the Good Old Days of spare tyres. Neither The Nighthawk nor the Volvo were supplied with spare tyres (are any cars these days?) but with a can of gunk to fill the tyre which then has to be replaced together with a bill for cleaning the wheel. I fitted a space-saver in The Nighthawk but the Volvo doesn't even have a place for one of those. As my car is rarely used for more than two people the space-saver lives behind the passenger seat in it's neat black piped-with-red bag.
DeleteI didn’t even know you could get those! Glad you ok!
ReplyDeleteFi they are a legal requirement on new cars now in Europe. I decided to fit them to save me checking the tyre pressures all the time. I'm glad I did.
DeleteGraham you were exceedingly fortunate to have had fitted that system and bad cess on the perpetrator too !
ReplyDeleteHeron I was and I still find it hard to believe that anyone would do that to my tyre but no one who looked at the cut could think of any road-related explanation.
DeleteWow! That certainly was money well-spent. A huge sigh of relief, Graham.
ReplyDeleteI'm pleased to hear you're back home again...there is no place like home. Take good care. I hope you have an enjoyable Easter in your familiar surrounds. :)
Thank you very much Lee. I spent yesterday shopping, meeting folk and catching up and, as it was a beautiful day, doing a couple of wee outside jobs. Today it's computer, paperwork and indoors day. Oh, and emptying my cases amd putting the washing machine on....there's always household chore regardless!
DeleteI had a side-wall blowout on a car many years ago while travelling at 70mph on the M25 motorway. Very possibly one of the scariest moments of my life and to this day I'm thankful to the drive I had just passed who saw it happen, braked sharply and urged me to cross in front of them to reach the hard shoulder!
ReplyDeleteGlad you're made it home (safely!) for Easter!
Thank you so much Robyn. My blood runs cold at your story and what could have been (for both of us).
DeleteA tyre blowout on a fast road is one of my worst nightmares. My car - Clint - also has a tyre deflation warning system and every few weeks it reminds me to pump up my offside rear tyre which loses pressure very gradually. I hope you have a good rest now you are back home.
ReplyDeleteIt is a nightmare, YP, and one I'm grateful to have (just) avoided so far. But 'just' is an avoidance nonetheless. PS I was having a chat with a friend recently whose front offside tyre kept gradually going down. I asked if she'd had it checked but she just kept asking the garage to blow it up. Eventually I persuaded said friend to have the tyre checked: there was a nail in the tread. Please check your tyre: if only to keep me happy!
DeleteThe car is going in for a service next week. I will ask them to look at the tyre.
DeleteGoodness me, that was a very scary journey. Why on earth would anyone cut a tyre knowing what the consequences could be. It beggars belief. Glad you are home and can now rest in your own bed. Take care.
ReplyDeleteIt was indeed Beverley. I keep asking the same question Beverley. Why? You'd think a vandal would cut the sidewall. All possible explanations gratefully received.
DeleteA scary episode. Hooray for the alarm. Gosh you have to go a long way to the hospital.
ReplyDeleteDiane we have a very good hospital on the Island and there are many hospitals a lot nearer. When I had my cancer operation 20 years ago the consultant moved to Ayr Hospital and I moved with him. Ayr has been responsible for my cancer treatment ever since. This, though not directly cancer related, arose because of cancer scans and, as I was there they operated the next day - that was in September. The treatment and complications have gone on rather longer than anticipated. At least I'm with one of Scotland's best surgeons for the problem.
DeleteWell lots of good news. Sepsis seems to be getting more prevalent, a chap here was very ill for nine months after cutting his arm on barbed wire and then going for some stitches. Mucky places are hospitals.
ReplyDeleteThe damage to your tyres is a little worrying. The damage to the inside wall is often caused by speed humps. Hit them straight on with one tyre and don't try to straddle them. The knife crime is now just part and parcel of living in an enriched society.
Good luck on the eleventh.
Thanks Adrian for you good wishes and the advice. Apparently one person in Scotland dies with (possibly not of) sepsis every four hours.
DeleteGood grief. Sepsis ought to be taxed like tobacco.
DeleteI don't know how I missed this post as I always (?) get auto email notification... (Hit by sudden suspicion I go off to check my email spam-folder - which explains WHERE that email went this time; but not WHY...) What a thing to have happen when driving home from hospital, of all occasions! But phew, I'm so glad you had that alarm installed, and also that you were able to get it properly checked and fixed in Perth! ♥
ReplyDeleteThanks Monica. Like you I'm having severe problems with Google sending things to junk. It really made me play the Glad Game all the way home.
DeleteWhat kind of twisted person will cut a car tyre with a stanley knife? I'll see to getting an alarm on our car. It is very sensible to take a break at home, and I'm sure you're appreciating it. I have to say I had no idea sepsis was such a problem.
ReplyDeleteJenny, I really want to believe that there was another explanation but the tyre people said they had never seen such a cut round the circumference never mind a deep clean cut and could only think of that as an explanation.
Deletewow gosh just as well you stopped and checked the tyre. Someone was watching over you for sure.
ReplyDeleteAmy I certainly felt as though it really was my fortunate day.
DeleteWhat a dangerous situation fixed and I am so glad you had the warning and returned home safely.
ReplyDeleteThank you Terra. I'd never be without such an alarm in the future.
DeleteHappy you are safe!
ReplyDeleteThanks Maywyn.
DeleteThe inside of the front tire? For someone to cut that, that is just too mean.
ReplyDeleteNow, to make you smile...if you have to get two tires, does that you two TIRED? (Too tired) HA!
No, you are too tired of my corny jokes! :-)
Kay the cut was on the circumference of the tread of the tyre. The one with the bulge ready to blow out on the inside of the tyre was probably caused by hitting a pothole. I'm never tired of corny jokes.
DeleteI am so happy you are on the mend, sepsis is horrible!
ReplyDeletetank you Viking Girl. I could not agree more about sepsis.
DeleteSepsis? I've been away and must have missed something. I'm so sorry. But glad you've managed to get home, despite the near miss with the tyres. Happy Easter, Graham. I do hope you'll soon be shot of hospitals. You seem to have had more than your fair share recently.
ReplyDeleteThanks Frances. Yes. I could do without being in a hospital for a while. On the other hand they are keeping me alive (which I regard a a considerable Good Thing). Coincidentally there's a billy-do in the post.
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