That little widget over to your right? The one with “Help Me Out” above it? I’m not proud of it. I don’t like that it has to be there. But unfortunately, it does. That thing I was telling you all about before – the one where my voice doesn’t work all the time like it should? The ENT¹ clinic in Des Moines finally got back to me. Informed me I am to see them at 8AM on Monday, July 15th. The problem with this is – I live in Sioux City, not Des Moines.

According to Google Maps, Broadlawns Medical Center is 203 miles from the mobile home court in which I live. Yes, you read that right. 203 miles from where I live. My truck is not going to make it that far. I already know this. I’m already afraid to take it much more than 100 miles before having the tires torqued, so it’s unlikely I’d take it on a 406 mile round-trip even if the radiator wasn’t cracked.

This leaves me with two options, neither of which I am fond – the first, and probably cheapest to be honest, is to ask for someone from church to take me to Des Moines, sit with me until my appointment is over, grab breakfast/lunch, and head home with me. We’d have to leave Sioux City at 3 or 4AM to be sure we got there in time. Plus, I’d have to figure out a way to pay for gas and food, because you know, I can’t just leave the person who takes me hanging like that.

The second option is to take a Greyhound bus to Des Moines on July 14th, check into a hotel when I get there², go to Broadlawns around 7- 7:15 to get all that “new patient” stuff done, and then check out of the hotel when I was finished at Broadlawns and basically find something for myself to do until 11PM when the bus would leave to bring me back to Sioux City. This option is rather expensive. First, it’s $98 for the bus as long as I buy the ticket 14 days in advance. Second, the hotel room is going to be somewhere between $60 and $100 for one night, and I might have to actually reserve it for two nights, I’m not sure. I’d also have to call the hotel to ensure that if I’m coming in by bus at 11PM and have to take a cab to the hotel, my room will not be given away. Plus I need cab fare and food money. Heaven help me.

Either way, I’m going to need help. My only source of income are the now non-existent sales from my business and my blogging income, which is almost non-existent. Definitely not enough to even pay for gas and food for someone who is willing to take me to my appointment. I promise to provide proof of where the money is going. Heck, I’ll even take photos with my phone on the way there and back and post them to Instagram³, if that’s what you want⁴.

Thanks for listening and for your help in advance!