October 11 – “On MRI’s and Tire Miracles”

MRI day.  Not really a big deal as far as handling the test itself.  I’m not particularly claustrophobic as long as I have an idea of how long to expect to be inside.  I usually sing to myself.  Well, right up until I start dozing off.  I know that sounds weird to others who have had MRI’s before.  See, it gets really loud inside that chamber when they start turning on the magnets or whatever it is that rattles around.  Oh, and this one was a two-parter.  One round to get a baseline image.  Then they pulled me out, stuck a needle full of dye in my arm, and wheeled me back inside for another go.  I hope they got all they needed for an accurate diagnosis. 

The good news, if there is good news here, came when I went to pay the bill.  We have a medical share plan so we have to pay up front.  I had already asked for an estimate based on whatever discount they give for cash pay customers.  Even had the little post-it note the girl wrote it on last week when I had the regular x-rays done.  She apparently made an error in the estimate, though.  She forgot to include the price of the MRI with the dye.  Since it was their mistake, I only had to pay what I expected … at that time.  She assured me that a bill for the remainder would be forthcoming.  Thank you … I think.

Tire replacement day.  When we got home I aired up the flat on the truck and took it to Firestone, where we bought the tires back in 2014.  The guy who checked me in gave me the estimate of how much it would cost for the two offending tires.  Worst case scenario would be two brand new tires plus the road hazard warranties we always get.  Cost?  Approximately $300.  I knew one was completely gone.  It had a huge hole in the side.  I was hoping the other would just be a flat repair.

I received the call to come pick it up a little before six.  Of course they had the usual, “Here’s all the extra work that needs to be done” spiel as well.  He ased where I wanted the two new tires to be placed on the truck.  That’s when I queried, “So I thought maybe one of the tires would just be a flat repair?”  Long silence.  He asked to put me on hold.  Long hold.  When he came back he said there must have been some kind of missed communication on their end.  There was no evidence that anyone had even checked the tire for a flat.  As a result they were going to just give me the new tire they put on that rim.  No charge for it at all, other than the new road hazard warranty.  I graciously accepted.  Wouldn’t you? 

Chris dropped me off at Firestone and headed on to Ladies Bible Study at church.  I saw that the truck was still in the bay.  The guy at the counter started typing in all the info about the new tires, chatting all the while about how I had been coming to Firestone for a long time and apologizing over and over again for the mixup.  Suddenly, he blurted out, “Wait a minute.  No way.  Wait a minute.”  So I waited a minute.  “No, this isn’t right at all.  I’m going to have to redo this whole thing.”  Well, there was no hoping that he was talking about someone else.  I was the only other person in the office.  He continued with a mixture of muttering and apologizing and pleasant chatter.  “You don’t drive this truck much, do you?  You’ve put just 8,000 miles on them since you bought them in 2014 … And you have the 40,000 mile warranty ... So that means I have to do the warranty papers on the other tire ... Man, I’m so sorry for the mixup … let me just put this here … and this over here … and change this to that.”  He went on and on like that for a good five or ten minutes.  Finally he pointed to the screen.  “Here is your charge today for the road hazard warranty on both new tires.  And here is the actual prorated charge for the tire that blew out since you had the warranty.  And here is your final total.  You gonna leave that on your Firestone charge?”  I could hardly believe my eyes.  Instead of the anticipated $300, the total bill for two brand new tires?  $65.78.  Umm.  Wow.

1 John 3:11 says, “This is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another.”

Father, thank you for small miracles in the realm of tire repair.  Amen.