Patrick is Headed to Broadway!

After much work, wait and fund raising, the day has finally arrived. Patrick's awesome drama teacher, Mrs. Deakins...has gone above and beyond in planning, coordinating, championing and working miracles to pull off the adventure of a lifetime.

Patrick and fellow drama-geeks will be leaving for NYC (via Korea and SFO) today. I am a bit sad not to be there to see him off at the airport...but the excitement I feel for him makes up for it. The kids will be participating in workshops during the day, seeing Broadway shows at night...and fitting in the sights, too...such as Lady Liberty, FAO Schwartz, etc. They are also going to try to get on the Today Show. Good luck, everyone!



Oh...and I never did get a chance to post this video from Patrick's Far East Drama experience in Korea. One of his talented classmates put it together, and I just can't get enough of it. Lots of good footage of Patrick in it, so I hope you'll check it out.

Museum, Mongolian and Good Fortune

Poor Jake gets so bored. I feel sorry for him...but not so sorry that I relish leaving the room and dealing with this:


You wanna know what's worse? Crawling along in this parking lot, realizing...you missed your turn...and that it would cost you at least an extra thirty minutes of drive time. Awesome. It was about this point that I asked Jake if it would be OK with him if we just stayed in the hotel room the rest of our trip.



Drive with Aloha, my eye. I've got your Aloha, right here!



We finally made it to our destination, The Pacific Aviation Museum.



Pshhh...this map makes it look so much easier.



If only every road led to our destination this way.



What displays they had were very well done, but the museum was much smaller than we imagined.



I mean, this looks like just one wall in Jake's room.



After the aviation museum, we went back to the room to wait for Heidi's call. She had offered to take us to Hickam AFB for Mongolian BBQ tonight. What a beautiful location. (Unfortunately, my camera was not cooperating and would not focus properly...I think because of the steam...but you get the idea.)



Brandon is Jake's age. Jake immediately relaxed and enjoyed visiting with him...and Brandon was so considerate...all of the kids were...in helping Jake with anything he needed. It was such a lovely evening and I'm so grateful to Heidi for making the effort...with 6 of her kids!



Oh...and I can't make this stuff up. This was the fortune from my cookie. While not actually a fortune by definition, I think it was pretty apropos, don't you? I know I will never forget Heidi's kindness.

North Shore Drive

We had planned to go to the Polynesian Cultural Center today, but Jake really didn't feel up to it. Instead, we decided just to take a windshield tour of the windward side of the island. We had to do something to get out of the room.

First, we took H3 straight out to the Marine base at Kaneohe Bay to look around at the BX, quarters, etc. You know, the important stuff. It is a very nice base with lots of new and improved housing. We ate lunch at the food court. {Only the best for Jake.} Then we did a little shopping. Not too much, though...not a lot of room left in the suitcases. Just important things...like chocolate chip macadamia nut shortbread cookies.



This is just the way I remember it from 20 years ago. I think it's wild how the road runs right along the ocean. See how wet it is? That is from the waves crashing onto the road. It was fun to watch.



I wonder how many people have driven straight into the ocean?



We followed the signs to the LDS temple in Laie. Beautiful! It had just opened back up after two years of renovations.



Then we backtracked a little to check out the BYU Hawaii campus.



What a gorgeous campus. We're hoping one/some of our kids have the opportunity to go here.



Jake still didn't feel like stopping at the Cultural Center next door, so we just kept driving...up to the North Shore. We found parking right off the road and stopped to take in the sights for awhile. {With Hawaiian radio 105.1, KINE, playing in the background, of course. It's been our constant soundtrack for our adventure here. Hawaiian music is probably going to give me traumatic flashbacks of this experience now.}



The waves were awesome. I could have sat here all afternoon and watched.



Then, to add to the local flavor, a machete-wielding stranger walked up to our car with a green coconut...



And made us an offer we couldn't refuse. {Seriously, we were afraid of what he might do with that machete if we turned him down.}



Jake loves coconut and was super excited to be drinking from one. The straw looked suspiciously like those McDonald's carries...and with no wrapper in sight, I had my worries about its origin. {Here's hoping Jake's "local" experience doesn't have him "going coconuts" all night.}

Andy's and Army Museum

Although I am grateful we are so close to the hospital (traffic can be a nightmare), there is nothing close by for shopping and food. The directory in the room has a map with several options just on the other side of the freeway...things like Papa John's Pizza and a Chinese place. It didn't take me long (just about 30 minutes of driving in circles) to figure out the map is outdated. It has all been replaced with car dealerships.

I called the front desk and asked for the nearest commissary. He said there was one right down the road at Ft. Shafter. I was so relieved...only to discover that by commissary, the clerk thought I meant gas station with shopette. While they did have a few items of produce and other groceries, I was completely traumatized when I picked up a bundle of bananas and a gecko jumped out of it and onto my hand. This place was OFF the list!

With Heidi's help, I was able to find a nice, big commissary to stock up...but with only a small microwave and fridge in the room, we did still need to buy at least one meal a day. Finding no apparent restaurants in the vicinity left me consulting the Internet for clues. The process was tedious...trying to figure out what was close enough...but then I just did a simple search for "Honolulu restaurants" and quickly came upon a site called yelp.com...filled with pages of restaurant reviews, which could be sorted by price, cuisine, neighborhood, etc. It has become my new best friend.

There is a problem with this, though...instead of looking for close and/or cheap...I couldn't help but look for what sounds the best, or is the most highly rated. Andy's is both...although close it is not. No matter...with page after page of rave reviews for their homemade bread, hand-carved turkey, to-die-for smoothies and fresh pastries...I would have driven the island over. In traffic. Luckily, I only had to go as far as Manoa Valley.


It was a little bit of a challenge to find...we drove past it the first time. There were lots of reviews filled with warnings about the lack of parking spots, but fortunately for us, Jake now comes with special VIP parking. My mouth is starting to water just looking at their sign again...



And is it any wonder? I mean...look at that sandwich! And the smoothie? Jake got strawberries and cream (which had yummy coconut milk), and mine was a tropical slice of heaven with stuff like papaya, mango, strawberry and banana. Andy's is the definition of 'hole in the wall'. To demonstrate...see the guy sitting at the table on the left? That table is up against the shelving that runs the length of the restaurant. See the person leaning on the right? He is leaning against the coolers that line the other wall. That's how big the place is. This proved unfortunate when the young couple seated at the table next to us started making out. I'm not kidding. I saw her tongue and everything. Classy. Jake looked like he wanted to rake out his own eyeballs with his bare hands. {Man, how I miss the society of zero public display of affection...where my husband and I catch sideways glances for holding hands. I wanna go home!}



And get a load of that menu...does that just scream YUM?!



Oh my goodness, I want to bite my computer screen! See those white bags up top? They hold homemade, chocolate-chip granola bars and chocolate muffins for the road. They were already out of their famous apple turnovers, so we will have to go back, for sure.

On the drive down, we saw traffic horribly backed up in the opposite direction, and heard on the radio that there was a shooting of some sort which had a major road totally blocked off. Charming. Rather than sit in that nightmare, or try to magically find an alternate route home, we decided to head down to Waikiki and check out the Army museum to kill some time. {That's probably not the best phraseology. Sorry.}



Again, plenty of VIP parking right up front.

Ahhh...pining away for "home" just like me, I'm guessing.



This was a very cool tribute to veterans of the Korean War. We found lots more to see inside...











I found this exhibit the most interesting...and touching. General Shinseki is Hawaii's homegrown hero, and there was an entire room dedicated to his life and military career.

If you can't read this, click on it to enlarge. Reading this brought tears to my eyes. Who wouldn't want those things said about her by her husband? What a special relationship they have...and he sure has a way with words.



When we got back to the hotel, we were greeted by a very special surprise from Grandpa Jim. What could it be?



Is this gorgeous or what? These ginger flowers are individually wrapped with rose petals. I wonder how long something like this takes to make?



Jake's was a manlier variety...but just as beautiful. It was so thoughtful of my dad to send us something to help us catch the "aloha" spirit...



Heaven knows we could use some of that around here. Thanks, Dad!

Do I Have a "Kick Me" Sign?

I don't even know where to start...and I don't know why I'm surprised. We showed up for Jake's first follow-up appointment this morning. We were directed back to the cast room, which was hopping! I caught a glimpse of Jake's surgeon in the corner, dealing with a broken arm. There were several residents and techs tending to the room full of patients in for cast checks, etc. We were met by a {very} young ortho tech, who listed the procedures for us. She said first, she'd remove the cast, then we'd wheel down to x-ray, and when we were done there, we'd come back to the cast room to see the doctor.

Funny, when recalling the doctor's explanation of how things would go...I didn't remember the cast removal part. But, I dismissed it and let her get to work. She did this every day, right? As she got closer to his incisions, I pointed out to her where they were located so she'd be extra careful. Jake winced a bit, but she was able to get it off without too much trouble.

I wheeled Jake down to radiology, and was relieved that I went in with him, after they attempted to do the weight-bearing and non-weight-bearing x-rays on the opposite feet! It was entered into the computer wrong, and I had to tell them twice he couldn't bear weight on the surgical foot. The whole time, I'm thinking, "Why did they have to remove this at all? Doesn't an x-ray machine work through a cast?" We finished, and I wheeled Jake back down toward the cast room, just as his doctor was walking out of the room. As soon as I saw his expression, I knew something was wrong. He saw us coming toward him, froze and said, "What is he doing without his cast?!" whipped back around and said, "WHO took his cast off?!?" I wanted to throw up. I didn't know exactly what this meant, but I knew it wasn't good. {UGH! Not again!!!}

He gathered the techs around their work station and held a heated "in-service training" on the spot. He said he was to be consulted on any of his patients before cutting off a cast. {It turns out the tech was new, and didn't know it wasn't protocol to remove a post-surgical cast.} My mind was racing, trying to think what this could mean. He explained that for proper healing, the cast needed to be molded to the shape of the bottom of his foot, something that needed to be done under anesthesia, since he'd be applying pressure to the incision...and now he was going to have to do it over again, sans drugs. I started to shake as the scene flashed through my mind. "Is there going to be screaming?" was all I could think to ask. "Hopefully not," he replied.

{Trivia: I cannot handle my children's pain. Can't do it. I used to be a field medicine/aviation medicine hospital corpsman. I gave shots by the hundreds....drew gallons of blood (one vial at a time) and even applied and removed sutures. None of this bothered me. I've listened to the screams of grown men (kidney stones...not battle wounds) and kept it together. The screams of my kids are a different story, entirely.}

I was shaking. I thought my knees were going to give. The doctor looked at me and pulled up a chair to Jake's exam table and told me to have a seat. {I'm sure I was in shock and looked like it.} I was mentally kicking myself for not questioning the ortho tech about removing the cast. I always ask questions! Why not now?! I said, "I thought it was odd that she was removing the cast. I should have said something. I just didn't want to look stupid." The doctor chuckled and said, "Oh there's plenty of stupid to go around here for everybody, trust me..." which was welcome comic relief. After examining the incisions, the doctor started to apply another cast. He took it slowly, was very gentle...and as he rolled, he described the next steps. He wanted Jake in this next cast for 4 weeks, totally non-weight-bearing. At that point, it would be removed and his foot would be cast for a custom orthotic boot (AFO). They would reapply a traditional cast while the AFO was being made. When that was ready, he could start partial weight bearing for the next 4-6 weeks.

Suddenly, it dawned on me...we've played the orthotic waiting game BIG TIME before. MONTHS for orthotics to be made on Okinawa...because it's only ONE GUY that does them for all of the military in the Pacific. I asked the doctor how long it would take for the AFO to be made. He wasn't sure, but said he was told our hospital could order it from a base on mainland Japan. I rolled my eyes and told him that if it was the same place that did his other 2 sets of custom orthotics, we'd be waiting months. I said, "We waited around four months each time. We are two years into this process now." At this point, he stopped wrapping and turned to the tech and said, "Take it off." They removed the cast AGAIN, and molded yet another cast on to his foot so that they could order the orthotic here in Hawaii. {Maybe even have it done so that we can take it when we leave here.} When this thinner cast was set, he cut it off to send to the brace shop, and started on cast number THREE of the day! Lucky for Jake {and me}, he was very gentle and there was no screaming whatsoever.

So, the silver lining in this? If the first cast had not been accidentally removed, chances are the doctor would not have been willing to remove it in order to do the cast molding for the AFO here in Hawaii...meaning, we'd have a long wait behind everyone in the Pacific for one guy to get around to Jake's order. But since it was already off once...why not remove it again? After Jake's final cast (pictured above) was finished...we got to go down in the basement to the brace shop (which was first rate...just what you'd expect from a training hospital with a ginormous budget) where Jake picked out the style and design pattern of his AFO. Bonus! {He chose a space motif, if you were curious.} It would have been whatever scraps they could have pulled together, in the color d'jour, if it was being done back in Japan.

Regarding the fact that they were making his AFO here instead of back in Japan, he said to me, "You just may rewrite the procedure on this one." Heavens, I hope so! If anything, I hope that what we are going through here is somehow making it easy for the next person. And the next. I can dream, right?

Conference Weekend

The past three days have been totally low-key. Our lives have pretty much revolved around Jake's pain medicine schedule. Three days of leg elevation down...three more to go. I feel so bad for him...he gets so uncomfortable having to lie flat on his back. He's tried going to either side, but the cast rubs on his ankle bone. It seems like this will go on forever, but I know it won't.

Jake hates the oral pain meds. He can't stand the loopy feeling. Pssshhh...I wish he could share, I could use some loopy right now! But no, I need to stay conscious to be able to fetch our meals and such. Jake gets really anxious whenever I have to leave. Traffic can be bad and there is nothing close by, so I feel really bad when I have to leave and so I try to rush back, but it still feels like forever to him. Luckily we have a little fridge and microwave. I try to only leave once a day.

I've become addicted to OWN (The Oprah Network). What will I do when I have to return to the world of AFN channels? Oh Oprah, I will miss you. Between her programming and "The Hunger Games" series that Jenn lent to me for the trip, I've managed to stay occupied.



Lucky for us, it is Conference weekend...which really lends itself well to just laying around watching TV. On one hand, we were very lucky to be in a US time zone so that we could watch it live. If we were still in Japan, we would have to wait until next weekend to watch the rebroadcast at church, or try to stream it over our slow Internet connection on the Mac. On the other hand, since we are in the Hawaii time zone, that means we have to get up at 6 AM to watch the first session. Since I'm kind of a night owl lately, that didn't go over too well. I went in and turned on Jake's TV and told him it was on, but I'm pretty sure he slept through both morning sessions. I probably slept through half of them. But I was awake for both of the afternoon sessions and they were great.

My favorite two talks from this conference:

Richard G. Scott-He spoke on the blessings of eternal marriage and developing unity through trials. I have a love/hate relationship with this concept. On one hand, I know it is true. When I look back on the experiences Cliff and I have had in our 20 years, I know that the trials strengthen our bond. On the other hand, sheesh, sometimes I wish life could be a bed of roses. He also told the sweet story of caring for his sick child through the night, and when he died unexpectedly a few months later, how grateful he was to have the precious memory of holding and caring for his son during that night. It made me think of this whole experience with Jake (and the one we had 12 years ago). Even in all the craziness, I'm grateful to have the opportunity to care for him.

Lynn G. Robbins-He started off his talk with the famous question, "To be or not to be" and then went on to talk about "to do or to be" I loved the part where he asked, "Can a child ever be checked off as done?" Sometimes, I can't really think about this concept because it makes my throat start to close up. Parenting is never done...even when you're a great-grandparent. Someone recently told me, "You're only as happy as your least happy child." Oh, this is so true. When I start to think of what the future could potentially hold, with four children raising families of their own, I realize I will never be able to check them off as done. I just pray they make wise decisions...the most important being with whom they will raise their own families. My favorite part was his analogy of "Parenting 101" vs. "Parenting 505." When kids/teens bring challenges with their choices, it's hard not to think of those challenges as a burden. But when he asked, "With which child will your patience, long-suffering, and other Christlike virtues most likely be tested, developed, and refined? Could it be possible that you need this child as much as this child needs you?" It really made me think of things differently. Not that I'm looking to have my patience and long-suffering challenged, believe me!

I look forward to getting the Ensign so that I can read the talks I dozed through. Heaven knows, with no Oprah network, I'll have enough reading time on my hands.

Happy Birthday Patrick!

Guess who's 17 today?

While missing birthdays is commonplace for Cliff, the closest I've come to missing one of the kids' birthdays is having a can't-miss event scheduled the same night. One more reason to not like being here.

I told Patrick we'd celebrate when we're all together again...and Cliff offered to take him out tonight AND when Jake and I return. Turns out, Patrick made plans of his own with actual cool people. I guess it's better that I'm here and not subject to such rejection first-hand.

(Happy Birthday, Mr. Hotstuff!)