I have got to say that today is pretty damn near, if not the, worst days I've ever experienced...
I started the day just fine. Had an early morning drive through the TN/NC gorge on I-40 just after sunrise. Beautiful day, no traffic. That's pretty much were the good part of the day ended (within 60 minutes of starting):
My wife called me around 7:30, when she always does. We were having a normal conversation when she suddenly started having severe chest main, shortness of breath, you name it. A coworker called an ambulance immediately and got her to the hospital (she works less than a mile from the E.R.). Of course, I didn't have any information as to her condition or what was going on for well over an hour. When this all started, I was just coming up on the I-81/I-40 junction, so I went to the Pilot and shut down, waiting for news. Where I was at that moment was pretty much the closest I would be for a few days. If it had come down to it, the trailer would still be sitting there and I would've been bobtailing to Fairmont.
My wife called me back around 9:30 or so. They had her checked into the E.R. and had already ruled out a massive heart attack, but had her on oxygen, baby aspirin and a nitro patch. She sounded much better and told me to keep running (delivery in Findlay, OH). I called my dispatch and told them that I would deliver the load, but had to get home ASAP. They originally had me scheduled for an afternoon (tomorrow) pickup in Trenton, OH, but changed my load with another drivers. I'm now scheduled to pick up at 8am, going directly home. Once I was off the phone, I scaled my load and headed down the road.
I hadn't been on the road again maybe 15-20 minutes and my wife called back. She was completely out of it, ready to pass out, which she did, while I was on the phone with her. Now I don't know WTF to do. My parents were on the way to the hospital and I was at least 6-7hrs from home, even bobtail. When my wife passed out, the phone was still on and I could hear the nurses reviving her. Turns out that her blood-oxygen level dropped to 20 (it should be 100). They put a rebreather mask on her and it came right back up. Again, my wife tells me to keep driving, which I did.
As I was coming into Lexington, KY, I was beside myself wanting to get my ass home where it belongs. If my wife hadn't called me when she did, I was going to call dispatch and tell them to get a truck down there for the loaded trailer. By now, my wife is in much better condition. They had given her 2 breathing treatments for her asthma, which is what caused the oxygen level to bottom out like it did.
Long story short (well, somewhat), I'm being unloaded right now in Findlay. I'll head directly to Trenton and spend the night at the shipper. Sometimes I luck out there and get an early pickup. It doesn't matter to me if they load me @ midnight. As soon as the truck is loaded, it's heading to Fairmont. I do my logbook on the my computer and I'll at least make it look somewhat legal.