Rich at home + Grandma’s visit

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.

Rich’s Colitis

About 3 months ago, Rich started to have some weird symptoms. He was sick to his stomach but really thought it was related to something he ate. After a few days he started having blood in his stool. We both panicked and he immediately got in to see his provider who didn’t provide him with any answers or solutions. She told him he needed to see GI but he couldn’t be seen before we went off to SOS in Alabama for 5 weeks. His symptoms continued and worsened while in Alabama so he went to the ER to try to get some care. He was given an antibiotic that kills amoebas because that is what the ER doc thought he had. He took the antibiotics and the bleeding stopped! We thought this ordeal was over but the bleeding came back as soon as he finished the antibiotic. He tried to get in to see a GI doc in the states but was told that if he was seen he would have to drop out of SOS and seek treatment in Okinawa. That left him with no other option but to try to self diagnose and self treat so that’s what he did. He also tried to get a referral to set up a GI appt for when he came home but was denied because he wasn’t here to see his provider.

The 5 weeks of SOS were over and he came home. He had self-diagnosed himself with ulcerative colitis and started a diet that he was convinced would heal him. While on the diet he was actually doing much better but he was definitely not being cured. Any cheating or straying from the diet at all would put him in a great deal of cramping. A few weeks into being home and trying his best to stick to the diet he wasn’t showing signs of improving, just maintaining. I should also mention that after a few weeks of this he did go in to see his provider again and got a GI appt scheduled for Feb. 18th, the soonest they would see him despite all of his symptoms.

On January 17th he flew to Miyakojima to run a 62 mile ultra.

I just have to add that I literally begged him NOT to do the run because I was worried about him doing ultras in his condition. He insisted that he felt fine and so he did it. I can attest to the fact that he did feel fine, he just had these annoying and concerning symptoms but they didn’t affect his running.

Morning of race

 

During run

He came home not any more weak than he usually is after an ultra. 3 days later he dove to catch a football in PT and really hurt his shoulder. I had to help him dress because he couldn’t move his arm for a few days. He wasn’t able to sleep very well at night because of the pain in his shoulder. This went on for about a week and then he started to complain that he felt like he was coming down with something. He said he felt achy and tired like he was getting the flu. He pushed through the week but on January 29th, which was a Friday, I convinced him to use a comp day and stay home and rest. This was the day that everything began to spiral out of control. The next 4 days were some of the most difficult days we’ve ever experienced. He started to have unbearable cramping and vomiting with anything he ate or drank, even water! He kept saying it was just the flu and it would pass. By Monday night I had had enough and so had he. We decided we would go in to the ER the next morning.

 

Tuesday morning he was at his very worst. It was horrible to see him in that condition. I helped him dress and get his shoes on. It literally took every ounce of energy he could muster to get to the car. The 20 minute drive felt so long. When we finally arrived they took him back, asked a million questions and then started on his care. He had a GI cocktail which basically numbed his stomach so he wouldn’t be in such excruciating pain, they gave him IV fluids and took a stool sample. He had a CAT scan which showed some inflammation in his colon but apparently that wasn’t a concern to them. After just a couple of hours we heard the doctor say, “His labs came back normal so sending him home sounds like a reasonable course of action.” WHAT!?!? I completely freaked out inside at this point. On what planet would that be a “reasonable course of action”? Seriously? A guy comes in having lost 20lbs, severe abdominal pain, severe dehydration, unable to eat anything….lets just numb his stomach, hydrate him via IV and send him home? There are lots of things I could say about that doctor right now that I shouldn’t and won’t- I’ll leave it at that.  So, when the PA came in and told us the plan I broke down crying and basically begged for them not to send him home. I told him that I couldn’t take care of him at home, that there was nothing I could do for him but sit and watch him suffer. He was so nice and I could tell he really wanted to help. He asked Rich what he wanted him to do, so Rich really expressed to him that he knew there was something going on and that he needed another opinion. That was when internal medicine got involved and they ordered more labs.

 

A couple hours later the internal med doctor, Dr. Russell, came to talk to us. He seemed a lot more knowledgeable but even he was prepared to send us home. Again, we asked to please be admitted and he agreed to do it even though he didn’t feel it was necessary. Rich was taken up to a room and shortly after getting settled in Dr. Russell came in. He told us that one of the labs he had ordered came back showing that the inflammation in Rich’s colon was off the charts and that he was bumped to the top of the colonoscopy list! Yes, after fighting every step of the way we were finally validated. Rich had a colonoscopy first thing the next morning. The GI doc came back to tell him that he couldn’t complete the colonoscopy because Rich had the most severe case of colitis he had ever seen. He was worried that he might perforate his bowel if he continued on with the procedure. They started him on a steroid to reduce the inflammation that day. After 2 days on the steroid we felt like we could see him making some progress so they decided they would send him home on Sunday which would have been the 5 day mark of him being admitted. We decided we should join him at the hospital for a family movie night.

One of our many visits to the hospital to see dad.

Between Wednesday and Sunday there were lots of ups and downs but with the ups came a lot of confidence that he was going to recover quickly. We were so excited and I felt confident that we were going to pull through this trial together. Sunday came and he was still having blood in his stool so the GI doc decided to keep him longer. We quickly realized that the food they were giving him in the hospital was making everything worse. It was heavy foods that were making digestion incredibly painful, almost unbearable for him with the condition his colon was in. We decided that juicing was the best way for him to get nutrients and hopefully minimize his pain.

I had no other option than to juice at home and make the hour round trip drive sometimes twice a day to get his juice to him. Not to mention the constant trips to the farmers market to get supplies-I was quickly getting worn down. When we found out that he would be staying longer and we really didn’t have any idea when he would be coming home I immediate called his mom. I knew that I couldn’t keep juggling doing what he needed to get better and being there for the kids. I wasn’t willing to compromise the needs of either one of them as the kids were also having a hard time with dad being in the hospital. Words can’t describe the peace I felt when Marianne agreed to hop on a plane and fly to the other side of the world to help us in our time of need. In that moment I started counting down the hours to her arrival, and then she was here.

I think it was eye opening for her to see how serious his condition really was. He had lost an additional 20lbs since being admitted making his weight loss a total of about 40lbs! He was fit and thin to begin with so this was not weight that he had to spare.

The day finally came when they had done all they could do for him in the hospital and we were anxious to get him home so that we could continue his healing process in a much more comfortable and convenient environment. February 12th, he was discharged.

The kids were beyond excited to have daddy home! He didn’t even make it to the front door before being swallowed up by little arms!

This healing process is so much slower and involved than any of us ever imagined it would be. As it turns out the hospital stay was just the beginning of our journey with ulcerative colitis. My next post will document his first 2 1/2 weeks home with his incredible mom here helping and involving herself completely with this process. While it was a difficult and trying time, we realize how blessed we are to have each other and that together we can and will get through anything. We also had so much support from friends who helped me with the kids, brought meals and who offered many prayers in our behalf. For each and every one of them we are so grateful.

Maya’s heart

Maya has a heart of gold and something just happened that I don’t ever want to forget. Aidan came to me and told me that he didn’t want his Pokemon cards anymore. I told him that it was fine and that he could give them to Maya if he wanted to. He went straight to his room and got them. Maya was in her room and a few seconds later I heard her say “No!” Then, I heard them back there talking for a bit. I went to see what was going on and found Maya in tears! I asked her why she was crying and she responded, “Aidan gave me his Pokemon cards and it’s just too much. He’s just doing too much for me.” I explained to her that he didn’t want them anymore and she still was crying because she felt overwhelmed by what she saw as a sacrifice for Aidan. I love her heart so much!

 

Story #2- When we were at Disney in Hong Kong we went on a “Cars” ride that was a 3 seater with only one driver and Rich and I had to be in each car. Aidan, Maya and Arabella all wanted to drive but we could obviously only have 2 drivers so we did rock, paper, sissors. We warned them that there was no crying and that the loser would get to do something else special. Arabella won against both of them so her spot was secure. When it came down to Aidan and Maya, Maya won and Aidan immediately began to cry. Without hesitation Maya said, Aidan can drive! She wanted to drive but she didn’t want Aidan to be sad. Maya was born knowing that when you do something nice for someone else you feel good in your heart. She was born this way!!! What a blessing she is to our family.

Happy New Year @ Ogido Park

We’ve gotten boring in our old age I’ve decided. Maya wanted to stay up until midnight but it seems she was the only one and being out numbered we were all in bed by 10. We made up for it on New Year’s day though. We spent the day at one of Okinawa’s awesome parks. Apparently, parks are a thing here in Japan and they just really go all out. We were very impressed.

There were 3 different sections at this one park. The first one had a long roller slide which the kids loved. It was their first time.

I love this picture even though it’s blurry. She was squealing out of pure joy!

Eva also loved it.

Their favorite part of the whole part was the hang glider.

She was so scared her first time.

Maya was a monkey on this thing! She was standing up and trying to be a little dare devil.

Even Eva got in on the fun!

Then we headed to the 2nd part of the park. This is where they spent the majority of their time and also where Rich and I facetimed with his family who was celebrating New Years so there are few pictures.

That white thing was bouncy.

As we were leaving the park we stopped to ring in the New Year with Rich’s family via facetime. It was pretty cool. Excited for the adventures that await us in 2016!!!