Repurpose

In August 2007, I purchased my 2007 Toyota Tacoma. I had always dreamed of buying a brand-new truck right off the lot. In early 2007, I started thinking about purchasing a new truck and it almost felt like an urgency, but I didn’t know why. I should mention that before I purchased this truck, I knew I wanted to buy a standard but didn’t know how to drive one. I remember at my previous employment in Property Management, the owner would let me take the old Toyota work trucks when I would do property inspections so I could practice. I picked it up quickly and at the time I also had an older Toyota 4Runner, so I learned on that one too. When it came time to purchase my new truck I was prepared. Well, I was in for a rude awakening because I had the hardest time getting the hang of the new truck. I remember getting up early every morning before work so I could practice driving and taking the truck on hills. I would get so embarrassed because I was always stalling at stop signs and lights! I eventually got the hang of it and drove it for about two months. Shortly after I started having health issues and my vision was starting to be affected. I eventually had to stop driving as a result. It was in October 2007 when I discovered that I had a Craniopharyngioma which is a benign brain tumor and my whole world was about to be turned upside down. After several tests and preparation, my surgery was scheduled for December 2007 to remove the tumor. It was explained to me that the surgery I was about to have was routine surgery and after I was provided with the specifics of the whole procedure, I assured my family that they didn’t need to come to Denver and that Mark would keep them updated. It was also a very brutal winter and since they had never been in that type of weather before, it wasn’t a good idea for them to be there.

During the first surgery, they encountered some unexpected complications and I developed a spinal fluid leak and they were unable to get to the tumor. Mark was informed of the complications and he had to make the difficult call to my family to let them know that things had turned serious and they needed to come. My parents then made the trip and they had never flown before, so this was a first for them and they were in their 70’s. I was so glad I had my truck because Mark’s truck was an older one and it didn’t have an extended cab so it only fit two people. There was no way he would have been able to pick up my parents from the airport and the only other option would have been to rent a car. So, this was the first sign for me as to why there was such an urgency in purchasing the truck when I did.

The next step was preparations for a second surgery to address the spinal fluid leak and the removal of the tumor. This surgery was going to be more intense due to them having to make an incision from ear to ear and remove a portion of my skull. During this surgery, the surgeon had to move my optic nerves out of the way to get to the tumor. As a result of this, I lost half of my central vision and my peripheral vision. I was diagnosed with Traumatic Optic Nerve Neuropathy which pretty much sealed the deal that I would never be able to drive again. It was a hard pill to swallow because I felt I was losing a portion of my independence. Needless to say, I had more important things to worry about because since there was damage to my pituitary gland, I was also diagnosed with Secondary Adrenal Insufficiency and Panhypopituitarism.

As time went on, I began to realize even more that the purchase of this truck was not in vain because we used it to get me to and from my multiple doctor’s appointments in Denver, to and from work, Mark would use it when his truck would be out of commission, and vacations. I depended on Mark and this truck for everything. After Mark left in 2015, I had to figure out what I was going to do with it because I didn’t have anyone to drive it anymore. Luckily, I had help from one of the detectives at work Jared Dennis who help me with advertising the truck for sale on Craigslist. He helped me sort out the serious inquiries and sure enough one guy who was interested drove up from Denver in a blizzard, so I knew this guy was serious. Jared helped me meet up with him and he took him on the test drive of the truck and sure enough the truck was sold! I will never forget what Jared did for me because he not only helped me sell the truck, but he helped me close that chapter in my life.

I held onto my license plates all these years knowing that I wanted to do something with them but just didn’t know what exactly. Last week, I pulled them out of a storage box and I looked up ideas on Pinterest. Low and behold, I saw license plates used as roofs of bird houses. I enjoy seeing the birds that come to use our bird bath and eat the bird seed I put out in the yard for them so it was a no brainer. I showed my brother the ideas I found and he was able to make one for me. I absolutely love it and I placed it outside my window. Those license plates remind me of a chapter in my life when I was dependent on Mark and the truck to get me everywhere I needed to go. When I sold it, it was not only a closure of the ownership of the truck, but also my relationship with Mark.

Now, I have repurposed the license plates and it’s now for the birds.