I think none of us realized what a long recovery Rich had ahead of him after coming home from the hospital. The military approved him for 30 days convalescent leave and he would need every single one of those days. We have to acknowledge what a HUGE blessing it has been to be in the military during this time. We would be hard pressed to find a job that would pay for all of his medical expenses, give him paid leave with no pressure to rush back to work and still have a job to come back to. That is such a blessing.
Here he is just a couple of days before being discharged.
Rich coming home wasn’t quite what the kids expected. We definitely underplayed the extent of daddy’s sickness so when he was at home and spending 90% of the day in bed it was a little adjustment for them. Spending any time with him was a treat because even the slightest movement of the bed would cause him severe cramping despite the pain meds he was taking.
I have always loved my mother-in-law but what she did for us has deepened my love and appreciation for her. It is because of her that the kids lives weren’t flipped upside down and I didn’t get admitted to the mental ward. She came in and provided us all with stability at a time I was fumbling to keep it together.
She took charge of Rich’s new diet and got busy experimenting with lots of different recipes, some successful and others not so much. These pictures are from the beginning stages of solid food. Meal times were the only time he would get out of bed.
After about a week at home he began to have a little more energy. He started spending time getting some vitamin D.
He had spent 10 days in the hospital and about a week at home when he finally decided he was ready and wanted to get out of the house. We took a quick trip to the mall for dinner where mom enjoyed some delicious Japanese ramen.
We ran to the market in the mall to get some ingredients and by the time we were done there Rich was completely worn out. We couldn’t have been there more than an hour and a half but that was a bit too much for him. I love this picture so much. They were so sweet to each other.
Rich had horrible nights filled with cramping pains and constant trips to the bathroom. Pretty early on mom suggested he try sleeping sitting up. It was a great suggestion because he was able to get more than 30 minutes of sleep at a time. He still sleeps there.
It’s hard to say if Rich made a little or a lot of progress during the 3 weeks that Marianne was here. Compared to where he was when she got here he made huge progress but not nearly enough to say he was better. I would say he definitely got through the most difficult part while she was here and that was in huge part to her love and care. She massaged his feet every night including the day she went to visit him in the hospital. NOTHING compares to a mother’s love. Nothing.
Here is a quick rundown of all of the amazing things she did while she was here.
*Walked the kids to the bus stop every morning*
Hat day
*Painted little finger nails and playing out at the banyan tree*
*Helped Aidan fulfill one of his cub scout requirements by cleaning the bridge by our house*
*Pulled one of Maya’s bottom teeth*
*Enjoyed waaaaay too many delicious Family Mart pastry’s with me for which I take full responsibility*
*Had fun keep us all informed on my chalkboard*
Notice her flying away in a pickle with wings, hehe!
*Taking the kids to church on Sunday and being a part of our #bakersundayselfie*
*Visited Odomari beach*
*Visited the aquarium*
Both Odomari beach and the aquarium were rough outings for Rich. He probably shouldn’t have done either one of them because he was in a great deal of pain on our way home from Odomari and was exhausted and hungry at the aquarium. It was really important to him to show his mom a little bit of what Okinawa has to offer. He did and that made him happy.
*No visit is complete without an Okinawa pedicure from Cocok’s*
*Lastly, we hit up American Village and Okinawa’s very own, Blue Seal ice cream*
3 weeks flew by and saying goodbye was so hard to do. Rich wasn’t feeling well that morning so they said their goodbyes at home.
It took us a couple of days to get used to not having grandma around. Eva asked for her the next morning and still does, randomly. I really missed her company but she did what she came here to do and she did it really well. She left us this sweet note which tells me that she took home some good memories too.
Rich was on a great path of healing that he has continued. He is up to 142 lbs from 132 lbs and is gaining more and more strength each day. He was able to extend his convalescent leave by 2 more weeks and we are 100% sure he will have the energy he needs to make it through a work day when it’s time for him to go back. We are feeling like we are just now easing into “normal” life and we are so grateful for that.
)
