Hawaii Life: All in the details

 

After moving to Hawaii, it has been a huge relief. The hospital here has been amazing and the care Zephy receives is equally as kind as when we were in Japan. What we appreciate most is the kindness they have shown Fabian and me. Also, I’ve started to be amazed at people coming in and introducing themselves, especially when they started explaining to me what they were doing in English. As they talked I couldn’t help but smile because they had no idea that their simple act of communicating meant so much to me. I just stood there with relief and amazement reflecting on how I had to navigate Zephy’s entire year with a communication barrier.

I hadn’t realized the weight I was carrying daily until it was removed from my shoulders. Here in the PICU, we have our own room. And for those following the blog, you wouldn’t believe out of all the room numbers, we are in Room 5505. Even Fabian noticed as if it’s an inside joke with Jesus. As if he continues to tell us His grace is with us.

Here, we can relax and be with our daughter without having to worry about preparing her feeding tube, administering her medication, suctioning her constantly, or worrying about her machine settings and if she’s able to breathe.

I can be her mom, and not her nurse. I can sing to her. I can read to her. I can do stuff with her rather than for her. I can relax and just be her mom and not her caretaker and it feels so relieving I could cry.

The first night back after a long transition of traveling from Japan to Hawaii we were exhausted.

Everything went smoothly from the moment we arrived at the airport till we landed in Hawaii. In Okinawa, we had our own waiting room where we could charge some equipment before boarding the plane. As we went to the gate and got ready to board we ran into another Okinawa mama who knew about Zephy and had been praying for her. That was comforting. Also in our flight was a nurse we were in contact with when Zephy first came home and we were looking for help. Unfortunately it never worked out, but here she was getting to meet Zephy for the first time. I was so happy God made it so they could meet before we left.

Zephy had some sort of allergy or something on that flight and was really red and watery, we suctioned constantly, but other than that, it was great. Then in Tokyo, we were able to exit the plane on this cool elevator lift that was on a huge truck.  It was like being in a cargo container.  A nice Japanese man escorted us through the airport and showed us where to go to check in later, then walked us to the Thai restaurant because Fabian wanted to eat there. Along the way we kept our eyes open for outlets and places we could rest and wait during our 6 hour layover. And of course when we got to the Thai restaurant in the food court, there was a whole partitioned section open with lots of table space for us along with outlets to charge everything.  The restaurant owners even let us charge some batteries in the back and cooled our ice packs.

As for the flight from Tokyo to Hawaii overall it was fine. It was a little more chaotic getting on the plane than it was in Okinawa. We entered a Dreamliner which we thought was super cool looking for about three seconds until we realized those seats that turn into beds take up all the aisle space that we couldn’t push Zephy to our poor section in the back! The doctor and Fabian literally had to carry her stroller in the air over the Dreamliner seats to our normal section. Zephy was practicing flying! We had a few issues with the oxygen tank the airplane provided because when the doctor checked it, some valve was missing and when they exchanged it for a new one, the tubing couldn’t fit onto her respirator. We held up the flight for 20 minutes until we got it all figured out, sorry!

I held her in my arms for take off and once we were settled in the air, the bassinet came. It was a bit strange that the bassinet is connected to the wall high enough so that everyone behind us could see her. So what could they see?  Oh, nothing unusual…just a dad pouring milk in her gravity feeder and hanging it on the curtain rung while connecting it to her gtube extension. Just us busting out a catheter and removing her ventilator tubes to suction her throat. Nothing out of the ordinary people. Just a baby here who needs suctioning and needs to eat, with blue and white tubes hanging out of the bassinet for her to breathe.  Don’t be scared everyone…it’s just a sweet little baby.

When we landed it was so comforting to see my parents and a few close friends! My friend even made us a sign! Zephy was given a lei! Her first lei! And they know her so well that she was given a pink lei!

An ambulance was there to pick us up from the airport. Would you believe me if I told you I sat in the front seat with the driver who just so happened to have a son in Tokyo who is a missionary? And this ambulance driver in Hawaii, who didn’t know us or our story, just so happened to know the Calvary pastors we know back in Okinawa? And this Christian man and his wife have been contemplating moving to Japan to be missionaries!  They have been asking the Lord for confirmation…and who does he happen to be sitting by this very day? Me! A missionary from Japan! I pray that he is bold enough to take those steps to go to Japan! Even if it is just for a season. God is mysteriously in so many details and I love how He intertwines all of our lives.

As we got to the hospital. Would you have ever guessed that as we walked through the emergency doors with Zephy, the first person our EMT guys ran into and asked about where to take Zephy was this young guy who…wait for it…speaks Japanese and was able to chat with our doctor, because he had family in Awase, Okinawa and goes there every year?! God literally placed him in that back room in that very moment we walked through. He even walked us all the way to the new building where the PICU was.

And then of course we passed a bunch of rooms and ended up in room 5505.

It could not have been anymore clear that God’s fingerprint was in the details.

Then on top of that, I felt like God chose that specific nurse to be there for Zephy working that shift that day.  He was so awesome, gentle, and comforting. So much so that he dimmed the lights and asked if he could play soft music for Zephy…Yeah man! Go for it! Then the right important people just so happened to be there at the PICU that day that they could pull a meeting with us in that moment.

We sat at a large table with a bunch of important people and we were able to talk about Zephy and our situation she has been in. They were unbelievably caring, knowledgeable, and had many options for us. It was a long and difficult conversation, but we were encouraged not to make any decisions yet and get some rest.

We did. After a very long day, I should say days prior as well with all the moving, I was in a coma for 12 hours straight. Once my head hit the pillow at 7:30pm, I didn’t wake up till 7:30am. It was the longest continuous sleep I had gotten in ages.

Zephy is settling with a new respiratory machine, decked out in new sleeved American catheters, eating from a new electric feeding pump, and being suctioned with something called a soft catheter that looks like a rubber crayon with a little raised hole for my thumb to control the suction. Everything is different! I want to clarify that it isn’t better or worse than Okinawa, just different. I really believe nurses everywhere are generally kind human beings. It was just that her giant private room, with new supplies and machines, our own “family” space in her room, along with my own pump provided by the hospital, along with provided diapers and wipes and baby shampoo, plus our own bathroom and shower, with a pullout bed and a giant flat screen tv, was just over the top amazing.

God is so good! And I know that even if it a difficult time for us, Jesus reminds us that He is still with us and that He is the one controlling everything all the way down to the small details. It helps me to trust Him that everything is happening for a reason. Our trip home was His timing and for His purposes.

There is comfort in knowing that he is in the details.  There is not one thing that could happen without Him knowing and for me, that is comforting.  With every person we meet and every conversation we have, God is there in the details.

Our travels over the Pacific Ocean could not have gone any more smoother.  It was perfect!  Thank you for all your prayers.

Jeremiah 29:11

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.