On the Road with Annie and Pat

Tomorrow morning (well, in a few hours, actually), September 13 at 10:30 a.m. I am flying back to my family in Japan. It's been a long, sometimes difficult two months, but it was interesting and enjoyable nevertheless. We were so fortunate to have met so many wonderful, generous, giving people on our journey, and I am so glad that I was able to go through everything with Annie. We are so thankful for all of your help and support and love and prayers that helped pull us through.

We are still working on the appeal to the insurance company (UHA - University Health Alliance). They denied our request for coverage for Dr. Paul Sugarbaker's life-saving surgery but we have another month to file an appeal and we will. It just isn't right for them not to pay for surgery and treatment that wasn't available anywhere else. I will try to get a copy of our appeal onto the website so that all of you can read it and know and understand just what an incredible surgeon Dr. Sugarbaker is. There really is *no one* who does what he does in this country. Laurie Todd (www.theinsurancewarrior.com) helped us with the appeal and although UHA shut us down the first time, we are determined to try again. They are supposed to have an independent review of Annie's case, and we are hopeful that they will be fair and reasonable this time around.

Well, my Uncle Joe has been following the blog (thank you!) and said that he enjoyed reading all of them, but when I saw him last week, he told me, "Enough, Baby. Pau already." I guess maybe he's right. Annie is back at home and getting better and I am going back to Japan. Our journey together *is* essentially pau. I *will* let you know how the appeal goes and anything else that concerns Annie, though. Please check back at the website for updates.

Again, we are so thankful for your continued support.
We appreciate all that you do.
Thank you soooo much.
We love you!

 
Next we stopped at Kalaheo Cafe and Coffee Co. (www.kalaheo.com) for dinner. They used to only do breakfast and lunch, but kinda recently started serving dinner too! It was really good and Annie ate all of her salad and half of the sandwich she ordered, which was very good for her. (You know, she really, really loved food - pretty much *any* food - before her surgery, but afterwards, it's been a struggle at times. So it was so nice to see her eating and enjoying her food and not feeling anything bad afterward.)

We got to Hanapepe kinda late (around 8. They go until 9 p.m.) but that was ok. We walked around and saw some interesting stuff. Unfortunately, of course most of it was *way* out of our price range, but it was fun to look and walk around. We heard a couple of people singing, and there was a string quartet that was neat to hear too.

On the way home, we played a really fun game. It was Levi's idea. Someone says a word, and you go around and everyone says something that connects to that word...for example, Annie started with "apple". Levi said "red". Then I said "apple", Larry said "eye", Gail said "patch" and so on. (Uh, actually, we can't really remember what Larry and Gail said, but we *do* remember that he said some interesting words so....) Some really funny stuff came up; we were cracking up. All of us, including Annie and Gail played all the way home which was great because they were both very sleepy. We actually stopped one more time - at Foodland to pick up a gallon(!) of Meadow Gold Chocolate Ice Cream for Levi's dessert. (Of course he didn't eat it all, but he and Annie had a shake when we got home. Yummy!)

We'll be putting up some pictures of our trip soon, so stay tuned!

Thank you so much for all that you do. We are so thankful for all the support and love. Still.
We love you!

 
Also, yesterday all of Annie's boys came over because her oldest son, Clinton, was leaving for college. He's going to a small two-year college in Wyoming and planning to come home only for visits, he says. So they were all here: Levi (who's 11 and just started going to Kapaa Middle School in August while we were away in Maryland - thanks Cindy and Stan and David and Jenny!), David (who's 18 and graduated from Kapaa High School in June and who just started attending Kauai Community College), Clinton (who just made 22) and her husband, Keli (who came over after work). David's friend Melina also came and we all ate broiled teriyaki chicken and rice and salad - all that good stuff that is so yummy and local.

We all took a ride to the airport to see him off. It was kind of funny because he'd made reservations with United Airlines, but when we got to the airport, the UA counter was dark and the Agriculture Inspection station there was closed! So I got out and asked a security guard for some information. All he would say was that that was UA's area and that maybe the flight had already left (which was silly because the departure time was 10 p.m. and it was around 8:45). So I checked the board and we had to go down to the U.S. Airways counter to check in. It took a little while, and by the time he went through security it was almost 9:20. He was the *only one* going through, and I told him to be like Shrek and just go straight through, but he did the whole winding Disney-like course and said "good exercise".

I think that it was kind of shocking for Annie to think that her first-born son was going away and not coming back (to live) - she told our dad, "Do you realize that he's going away and not coming back?" And he said, "Yes. He need to be self-reliant. It's good." (Clinton's Grandma Darlene told me the same thing when I went to pick him up. She said that she was really glad that he was making a move and doing something with his life.) I mean, they'll always be babies for us, we'll always feel responsible and want to take care of them. But we have to realize that they are people with their own plans and thoughts about what they want and how they want to do things.

There have been so many changes and challenges for her, but she stays strong and sassy and perseveres. She's terrific!

Thank you everyone, for keeping up with us, for all your support and prayers and love. We appreciate everything you do.
We love you!
Pat.

p.s. Good luck Clint! We know you'll do great. We love you madly!
p.p.s. Happy Birthday to my baby- Lauren Mariko Noelani aka Rennie aka Ren aka Bub aka Bubbie aka Bud....
Hippo Birdie two Ewe,
Hippo Birdie two Ewe!
Hippo Birdie, deer Bubbie...
Hippo Birdie, two Ewe!
I'll see you in two weeks!
...clean up your stairs!
(ha! just kidding, but really....)

She actually slept lying down, curled up on her side, moving from head by the window to feet by the window, for a good bit of the flight, which was really great so she wasn't completely pooped when we arrived. It was kind of an unreal feeling for me; it felt like we'd been gone forever. (I think that probably for most people the month that we were away felt like a regular month, but for us it was so filled with different things that it felt way longer than that.)

Our Dad came to the airport to pick us up and although we weren't aware of it, Annie's husband Keli and her son Levi also came and were right behind Dad. As we were driving home, we finally noticed them behind us and then they passed our car and beat us back. It was nice to see them. David and his girl-friend Melina were at the house too. Then our youngest sister Diane and her family (Calvin, her husband, and the kids - from the top - Shannon, Jonathan, Justin and Jeran) came. It was so nice to see everyone. We got Annie settled in and then Dad and I drove up to Diane's house.

After we got my stuff into Dad's room, he and I took her some fresh, ripe papayas (oh, one of the yummiest things to eat on the planet - thank you papaya lady!) and I got to check her bandages and then Dad and I drove up to see Larry and Gail (Stacy and Jessica, their daughters, are gone to college now!). It was really good to see them too.

Today we got to see Clinton (Annie's oldest son) and his girl-friend Erin and that was really great. Friday will be his birthday and he and Erin are leaving for Wyoming to go to school.

I think that Annie and I will move over to Larry's for more R&R time. I will let you know how that goes!

Thank you all soooo much. We really appreciate all that you do.
We love you!
Pat.

p.s. I talked to SJ and Amy on the phone before going over to Larry's...sorry Kiki! We'll call after we get up to the Bruddah's, ok? La-doo!

They drove us around a little and we got some supplies for the final leg of our travels together. (After this, I still have one other flight to take, but I'll be alone.) Some fresh blueberries, (at Stan and Cindy's blueberries were one thing that she could almost always eat) some Ensure (I'm going to see if they'll make a medical exception and let us take it on the plane) and some kakinotane aka arare aka kakimochi. (Found a Japanese market nearby which was really funky but interesting at the same time. Lots of stuff that I see in Japan at the supermarket but strange because of the English printed on the boxes or labels. I took some pictures and will post them soon.) I brought some with me and on each of the flights at take-off and landing, they helped her get through. Problem was that we just about ran out so we got some at the market. They won't taste the same, but we hope they'll do.

We leave Phoenix tomorrow morning. Hopefully the check-in and flight will go smoothly and we'll be back in Kaua'i tomorrow afternoon! Flight time is just under 7 hours, which will be a real marathon for her, but...you gotta do what you gotta do, so we'll do it!

As always, we are so thankful for all of your love and support. Just couldn't have done all of this without you!
Thank you!
We love you!

We got there fast (only about 20 minutes), found a space fast, went up, checked in, she got called fast, she came out (really not long at all) and we went downstairs to the lab where she got called fast, came out in just a few minutes, we went to the pharmacy where her number was immediately called. We sat down for just a couple of minutes when she was called up to pick up the prescription! Her appointment was supposed to be at 9:40, but we were out of the parking lot before 10! Fast!

After that, we went shopping at the *Boy Scout Store*! (The National Capital Scout Shop in Bethesda, MD.) Annie needed to get some things for Foxy and we found some great omiyage there too. Cindy and I actually spent about *2 hours* in that store. (David couldn't believe it.) It was a lot of fun and they had tons of cool stuff.

We drove home after that, and picked up Jenny and Annie and met David at the Red Robin restaurant in Germantown (MD) for lunch. After that, Jenny and I went back to the Amish market (told you about that in a previous post) to get some last minute stuff and also to try...scrapple! It's a traditional breakfast food made of pork parts and cornmeal and flour. I figured if I was going to try something like scrapple I should get it from the Amish market! For sure their pigs are raised in a natural way with no chemicals involved at all, and all of their other ingredients would be equally pure. Cindy cooked it for us and it was a lot like Spam, with a finer texture and a different flavor. It was good! That Amish market is such a cool place. Really interesting and *real*, you know? The first time David took me he explained that the Amish people don't like modern things and that taking pictures and using cell phones wouldn't be respectful of their customs. So although I really wanted to take pictures in there (I knew I would never be able to describe things clearly enough) I restrained myself. Well, this last time, at the candy shop, I took a chance and asked the nice young man there if it would be rude for me to take a picture of him. He replied that *they* can't take pictures, but if *I* wanted to take a picture of him, that would be fine. So I did! Very cool. (I didn't take pictures anywhere else, though, because it didn't seem right.) So I will post a picture of him and the Amish market soon.

Cindy's parents, P-pop (he says that for him the "P" stands for patriarch, which he is!) and Grandma came over for a little to say good bye. And David brought his friend Jamey over for the same reason. (Jamey stayed overnight so that he could help us in the morning with our bags. So sweet!)

Boy, this turned into a novel! Sorry it got so long. Thank you for bearing with me and thank you soooo much for all you do. You are much appreciated!
We love you!

She was very gentle and careful at bumpy places (which Annie was really grateful for) and she even went and called the shuttle bus for us and went outside the terminal with our suitcases to wait for them while Annie and I were waiting inside (she said that she didn't want Annie waiting out there in the heat and vehicle exhaust). Wow.

So now we are moved into our temporary abode, the Hyatt Place Tempe/Phoenix Airport hotel. It's really spacious and the beds seem really comfortable with tons of pillows. (Yep, *beds*. We each get a double bed. To ourselves! What luxury!) We've also got a desk, a wet bar and a big corner sofa with a leather ottoman. (Only thing is that the carpet is kinda grubby-looking so I'm wearing slippers.)

We got some food delivered (we were really hungry when we got here!) and the delivery girl came right up to the room! We were surprised at how fast the food came. Annie got a hamburger and fries (with a small Caesar salad) and I got a southwest-style salad. It was pretty good.

This hotel has place downstairs where you can get food and juice and pastries and snacks 24/7 and Starbucks coffee too. I went down to see if they had any Gatorade (they did, but it was $3 for a bottle and Annie said that was too much). They also have fresh fruit - bananas, oranges and green and red apples that are free whenever which is pretty cool.

Today's flight was delayed from 10:50 to 1 p.m. (because of bad weather in the D.C. area) so we got here later than we'd planned, but that was ok because Annie got more sleep. Even though she was wheeled to the plane and out afterwards, it was really tiring and uncomfortable for her to be sitting for so long. She really does need to stretch out and be able to move to be comfortable. It was really cold in the plane too, and even though she had two hoodie jackets on, she was still cold. The stewardess was very kind and gave us a really thin polyestery "blanket" which seemed like it wouldn't work, but Annie was a lot warmer after getting it.

I hope that all of you are well.
We are fed and safe and comfortable right now, so don't worry about us!
Thank you for all that you do. We really appreciate you!
We love you!

Hope you are all good. We are!
Thank you for all that you do; we really appreciate you!!!
Love you madly!

After that, we drove to the house in Alexandria where we lived when Annie was born. It's address is 2904 Hickory Street. David got us there really smoothly and we got Annie up when we arrived. We were really surprised to see that it was for sale! I got out and took some pictures and David came out and took a couple of me. I was going to just get back in the car, but Cindy said that since the house was for sale and the front door was open (well, they had a glass door that was shut but you could see right inside) that I should try and see if I could see the inside. I went up and rang the bell but no one answered so I went back to the car. Then we noticed that there was a dog in the doorway so I went back out. When I got back up to the door, the owner was there and I explained to him why we were here and where we were from and he was very kind and let me in and showed me around the first floor and basement.

I told him that those were the stairs that Annie had fallen down (except at that time the stairs weren't carpeted!) and that there had been a big forsythia bush in the front next to the steps and that we used to slide down the little hill in the backyard and there had been a crab apple tree there. He was interested (which was very nice) and said that we could see really nice pictures of the house on this web page: http://www.redfin.com/VA/Alexandria/2904-Hickory-St-22305/home/11847396. (It's really modern and beautiful now. The back yard is completely different!!)

On the way home we passed the Pentagon and David said, "That's where my Dad used to work." And I said "Ours too!" How cool.

I have to say again that just about all of the people we have met on this trip have been extremely nice, kind people. (Out of everyone, *one* snappy, irritated person. Incredible!) It has been a really, really wonderful experience. (Ok. Of course the surgery and chemo wasn't nice, but it had to be done, so considering everything it has been just about as good as it could have been. 110% great.)

I hope that you have a really great night or morning or day. We are so thankful for all of your support and love.
Thank you!!!!!!!
We love you!