Change of Plans

Remember in my last post how I said in the military things can change in a second? Guess I should have knocked on wood or something...
We've had a couple frustrating/stressful days. We spent 12 hours in the ER yesterday. Ben woke up hurting really bad about 2am. We tried all our usual things- put the tens unit on, put the heating pad on, took some pain meds- but nothing was helping. So at 3am we left to head up to Tripler. We got there about 330, and sat there for the next 12 hours. They did the normal tests- blood, urine, etc. Of course everything looked normal. A bit dehydrated, but who wouldn't be after not being able to eat or drink anything for that long. They also did another CT Scan with contrast (he had the exact same thing done 3 weeks ago). And to no surprise, there was no "significant changes." It did show he has a kidney stone on the right side, but that wasn't noticeable compared to the pain he was having on the left. After that, they called General Surgery for a consult. We already had an appointment with them scheduled for today, but the ER wanted their opinion anyway. After consulting with 4 different surgeons, they decided there wasn't anything worth operating on. So they sent us home with some Hydrocodone and said to follow up at our appointment today where they would give us the profile we need to start the med board. We finally got home about 530pm (we hit rush hour traffic and had to stop and get food and gas on the way). The puppies were super good all day though. We had left them in the house thinking we would only be gone 3 or 4 hours. I was very happy to come home to no mess. It's so nice knowing they are that well house trained.
Then this morning we headed up to the hospital fully expecting to just get the profile. After going back almost an hour after our appointment time, the doctor made it quick. We told him about our time in the ER yesterday (because of all the surgeons they consulted he wasn't one of them), and he pretty much decided then and there that he is going to operate again. Really didn't even give us a chance to say yes or no or even ask questions. He then left the room to see when he could do it, came back with a date and sent us over to the appointment office to schedule our pre op appointment. So Ben's have surgery again on July 11th. Totally not what I was expecting this morning. Especially since it was the same surgeon we saw two weeks ago who said he didn't think surgery would work and didn't want to do it, and after 4 surgeons said yesterday that they wouldn't do it. Then all of a sudden someone wants to do it. It's a bit frustrating.
I'll admit I wasn't happy this morning after finding out they are doing another surgery. This will be number 6 in the past 3 years, number 2 in the past 6 months. The difference with this one is that they are going to use an adhesion barrier after removing the adhesions. Hopefully that will prevent the adhesions from coming back and we won't have to deal with this problem anymore. It would be nice to see my husband not hurting any more. But even with the barrier, we can't be 100% sure that the adhesions won't come back. At least if it doesn't work we can say that we've tried everything. So while I'm not totally thrilled that he's having another surgery, I think it's what needs to be done. After talking to my mom this afternoon I'm feeling better about it. The reasons I was telling her for not wanting to do it were sounding kind of stupid once I thought about it. And those that know me know that it doesn't take much to stress me out and make me worry. So naturally I worry that something will happen with the baby (like I'll be put on bed rest or she'll come early) and that Ben won't be fully healed yet. Or worry that this surgery won't work and that the adhesions will just come back worse than before. Or what if it does work, will we still be able to get out or will they keep him on active duty (we still have a little over two years left on his enlistment)? So really it just raises a lot of questions and "what if's" that I don't know if there are any answers for. And I may or may not have just been having a pregnancy moment this morning...
So that's where we are now. Having surgery puts off the med board longer, and we'll have to wait and see if it even happens at all now. We're back to the wait and see point now. Have to wait and see if the surgery is going to work. That will determine what happens after that. So I think it's going to be a few months before we know anything else. Hopefully he'll have some relief for at least that long. But we'll keep you updated as we find out what's going to happen from here on out.

One Month Later...

It's crazy to think that we've been in Hawaii for over a month now. It's been a super busy month, but things are starting to settle down now. The first couple weeks we had several appointments daily. For the most part we are down to 5 or so a week now. Granted the whole reason we are here for appointments and to get Ben feeling better, so the number of appointments is always changing. It's enough to keep us busy though. I'll talk about all that in a minute though.

Here's some highlights for the month of May:

We spent a total of 9 days in the hotel before we were able to move into our house. They had empty houses when we got here (which kind of surprised me), so we were able to get in pretty quick. Most of our stuff from Japan was already here by then too.

It's quite a bit smaller than our house in Japan. This one is a 2 bed/1 bath. Which is alright, other than the fact that we have enough stuff to fill a 3 bedroom. We had the extra room in Japan that we used as a guest room/office, so we have all that extra stuff to find room for. It's been a bit of a challenge, but I think we've got it mostly figured out.





The dogs had to spend the first 3 weeks in quarantine, per Hawaii law. We only got to visit them a couple times while they were there, which was depressing, but they were sure happy to come home.

They love the new car too. They have to really jump to get in it, but as you can tell by their smiles they don't mind much. Their behavior has been a lot better too. For those that missed it, the last week we were home they couldn't stand to be near each other. Smokey bit off part of Misty's ear, and they beat each other up pretty good. Ben got caught in the middle of one of their fights and we actually ended up in the ER on Easter. (No serious damage done and he's doing fine now). When we took them in to the vet to get their health certificates to come to Hawaii they were put on some medications for anxiety and aggression. They did help some while we were home, but we haven't needed them since we've been here. So that is good. It was just really weird as they have never acted like that before. And it was just towards each other, not the other dogs in the house. But anyway, they are doing good and seem to be enjoying it here too.

The weather has been kinda crazy since we've been here. Lots of thunderstorms and rain which is unusual (or so I'm told) for this time of year. And other than the fact that it causes the dogs to track the red mud through the house, I don't mind. The temperature has been pretty perfect. It's starting to get a bit warmer now, but nothing too unbearable as long as it's not muggy out. And when that happens I just stay inside with the a/c on. The rain makes for some awesome rainbows though.

Kaylin and I are doing well. She's getting bigger, and moves A LOT! I had another appointment Monday and everything is going fine. According to the scale at the office I've put on 4 lbs since my last appointment, but my scale here at home says I've only put on 2 maybe 3. I'll lean towards my scale at home. :) I had to do the glucose test a few weeks ago. My one hour test was slightly elevated, so I had to do the 3 hour test. I never heard back from the dr office saying there was a problem, and the midwife I saw the other day didn't even notice I'd had it done already, so I'm assuming everything was fine with it. She did say I'll have to do the 3 hour test again in 6 weeks or so to check for a late onset of gestational diabetes since I did it earlier than they usually do it. But that's what happens when you have a family history of diabetes and insulin resistance like I have. So overall things are good. I tire easily and have a hard time getting comfortable (especially at night), but it's all worth it, right?! And it's only a few more months...

Ben is doing about the same. Like I said in the beginning he's had lots of appointments. Unfortunately we haven't found anything that really helps with the pain. We talked to general surgery and the surgeon doesn't want to do surgery again. He doesn't think it will help, and would more than likely just make the problem worse. That's pretty much what we expected to hear from him. He did say he would give us the profile we need to start the med board though, just not at the first appointment. We go back Friday and will hopefully get it then. As soon as we get that they can start the med board. So hopefully we will have this whole process started by the end of the month. And as long as everything goes smoothly, we are looking at being out of the Army early next year (Jan/Feb time frame). Granted it's the military and things have a tendency to change in the blink of an eye. It's just one of those things we have to do step by step. In the meantime, we are trying different things with the pain clinic to see if we can find something that helps. The doctor ordered a few more tests and we're going to try some medical massage therapy. We'll see if that helps figure anything out. But that's where we are right now. Still doesn't feel like we've made much progress or really gotten any help period, but we have only been here a month. Hopefully we get something figured out soon. Even if it's just getting the med board started. I'll keep you updated though. :)

Half Way There!

It's been a while since I dedicated a post just about my pregnancy, so here you go! I am about 21 1/2 weeks right now, so right about half way. Yay! Overall things have been going really well. I'm doing well, baby is doing great, and right now things are right where they should be. My only complaints are that I tire easily and my feet seem to always be swollen. The swelling started on our journey from Japan to Boise, and took a while to get back to normal. My mom talked to some of her doctor friends at work and they said it's not really something to worry about. Unless my blood pressure goes up, but that has actually been really good. So I just get to deal with fat feet. :)

Like I said, baby is doing great! Right before leaving Boise we found out we'll be having a GIRL! We really thought it was a boy, but are super excited to have a girl on the way. We've already decided on a name- Kaylin Michele Hulse. And until now the only people we've told the name to is family and a few friends. It hasn't even been announced on Facebook yet. :) Kaylin is super active and loves touching her face with her hands and feet. The past few ultrasounds we've had done she's always bent in half with her feet up by her head and wiggling all around. I love that feeling! I love to feel her move, although her favorite time to do it is when I lay down. She's getting big enough that Ben can feel her a little bit too. He described it as the flutters I felt in the beginning, but she doesn't feel much like flutters to me any more. We went to a movie this afternoon and I would smile every time she jumped at a loud noise. I can only imagine how much more I'm going to feel as she gets bigger. I'm never going to get any rest! :) She's growing like she should though and has a nice strong heartbeat. Her legs are nice and long, so I have a feeling she's going to be tall like her daddy. We've already seen that she's flexible like he is. :)

And here's a picture to end with. At my ultrasound this past Thursday she finally gave us a profile shot! Not the best since she doesn't like to hold still, but still an alright one. We can't wait to meet our little wiggle worm! :)

The Sexy Beast

After being in Hawaii for less than a week, we decided we needed our own car. The WTB has designated drivers to take us to all of his appointments, but you have to wait on their schedule which can be a bit of a hassle sometimes. We could have had the mustang shipped over, but we decided that between the time it would take to get here (at least a month, give or take), the cost to get everything done here that has to be done (like inspections and stuff), and the road conditions (lots of tall speed bumps and some roads that could use some repaving), it would be easier to just get a car here. We've been looking for a while, and knew we wanted either a truck or SUV. So we did some internet browsing with some dealers that are known to have great military benefits, emailed a few, and waited for a response. The first to respond had just what we were looking for. He had a couple vehicles in mind for us to look at- a truck and an SUV. We looked at both and ended up with this:


A 2006 Ford Expedition XLS! The price was right, the dealer already had a loan approved for us, and all we had to do was decide what we wanted it and sign the papers. We took it for a test drive around the block and Ben fell in love. It took a bit more convincing on my part. It's a lot bigger than I'm used to, but it is what we've been looking for. There is plenty of room for the baby and the dogs (which is what we need).

It seats nine, and all six of the back seats fold down flat. There is some decent leg room in the back (at least in the middle seats I didn't climb all the way in the back) so my brothers/ passengers won't have to get all scrunched up when they ride with us. :)

It has just under 59K miles on it, which is actually less than the Mustang. It was taken care of really well by the one previous owner and is nice and clean and in great shape. The gas mileage is pretty decent for being as big as it is (16-18 city and 18-22 highway). Still costs a bit to fill it up (25 Gallon Tank), but it doesn't help when gas prices are over $4 a gallon. It was $4.37 on post when we drove by the other day, and that's one of the cheaper places. We'll survive though. It's not like we'll be driving down to Waikiki every day. :) So all in all, we are happy with our purchase. I'm getting used to it, and it is what we were looking for. Plus it leaves us with lots of growing room. :)

Aloha!

There is lots to talk about, but I'm going to try and make this quick. It's been a busy day and I'm ready to sleep. We made it to Hawaii safe and sound yesterday. The flight was a bit bumpy at the end, but overall it was a good one. Today was full of appointments and in processing. We met with Ben's doctor, who will actually be his doctor the whole time we are here. Which is a good thing, we really like him. He ordered a whole bunch of tests, including an MRI for his shoulder, abdomen, and knee. So it's good to know they will address ALL his problems while here. We met with his case manager, who actually happens to be from Idaho Falls. We like her too, but I guess she'll only be our case manager for the first 30 days. It's kinda crazy how that all works. From what I understand the first 30 days is more of just an evaluation time, and after that they'll transfer him to an actual battalion. We will be here for at least a year. The whole med board process takes about a year, but I don't know how soon they will actually start all that. The plan is also to transition out after the med board. So we'll be done with the Army once we are done here. And they will help us with all the transitioning stuff. That way we have a plan once we do get out. We also met with our social worker this afternoon. He seems like a good guy, and will actually be our social worker the whole time we're here. We also met with the housing office this afternoon. We are officially on the list, which really isn't a list. They have open houses right now, so we should actually have a house by next week. We have to go back tomorrow and talk to another guy, but should have a house soon. Looks like it will only be a 2 bedroom, but we'll have to see what they have available exactly. Then we also went and saw the dogs this afternoon. They have to stay in the state quarantine until the 21st. Bummer for them (and us), but we should have a house by the time they are done. So that is pretty much all the big news for today. We've got more appointments throughout the week. I think this will be a good place though and we'll finally get the help for him that he needs. I'll do my best to keep this updated. I've got more just everyday stuff I could write about, but it's time for bed. I'll try to do that in the next few days though. :)

Enough Already!

I've seriously had enough of the aftershocks, the blackouts, and everyone worrying and freaking out! It's been over a week since the earthquake, and we haven't been completely immune from the affects of it. We continue to have aftershocks and quakes, which really isn't surprising. That's to be expected for a while. We had about a 24 hour period where we had to boil the tap water before using it. That wasn't too bad since we really don't drink tap water and I just tried to avoid making anything that I would need water for. Because of the nuclear power plant problems they've had rolling blackouts across Japan. We've been hit with them 3 times now. Usually only goes out for 3-4 hours, but when you're trying to clean house and it's dark outside and you have no heat, it's not very fun. Then you have everyone freaking out. It started with all the aftershocks and now it's because of the fear of radiation. I find myself avoiding facebook because I get tired of reading about it from everyone. Starting today they are having VOLUNTARY evacuations. Pretty much all the women and children from our branch at church are leaving in the next day or two. Not everyone, but a good chunk. We are NOT! We leave in a week anyway. There's no sense in rushing things if we don't absolutely have to. They are still testing the radiation levels here at Zama every three hours and so far it's been in the normal range. Particularly the lower end of normal. So I'm not worried. Unless something drastic happens in the near future, I think we'll be ok for a few more days. Ben says if not we'll at least glow in the dark. :)
Ok enough complaining. Just had to get that out there. Now some happy news! All our stuff is gone! The movers came on Wednesday and the house is pretty empty now. We've got some major floor scrubbing to do, but the rest of the cleaning shouldn't be too bad. We have our final inspection next Wednesday. A couple of my friends threw me a baby shower last night. Turned out super cute! I'll make a post about that itself when I get the pictures though. I forgot my camera and the power was out, so I used my friend's with the flash. There was only 4 of us there (plus a couple husbands and kids) because of everyone getting ready to evacuate, but oh well. We still had a good time. They are some of the few people that I will actually miss when we leave.
So all in all things are still good here. We're still ok, the dogs are ok, and our move is on track. We fly out a week from today. YAY!!! We'll be home in a week!!!

Hold On! It's A BIG One!

Before I start getting flooded with phone calls and emails from worried family and friends, we are OK after Japan's big earthquake this afternoon. And when I say big, I mean HUGE! It was registered at an 8.9 about 240 miles north of Tokyo, so less than 300 miles from where we are. And we sure felt it! I was up at the office with Ben, and we actually had to evacuate the building. I couldn't believe how long it lasted! In the three years we have been here, that was the biggest quake we have felt. A half hour later we had to evacuate the building again because of one of the aftershocks. They finally told everyone to go home about 3:30, and that's what we did. I had left the dogs out on the back patio, and I'm glad I did. There was no major damage when we got home. A lot of things out of place and a couple broken glass candle holders, but nothing too serious. It moved a couple pictures on the wall, knocked some things off the entertainment center, moved the TVs, knocked over the surround sound speakers, knocked books off the bookshelf, scattered my craft stuff all over the guest room, knocked a bunch of stuff off the bathroom counter and shelf, spilt the dog water all over the floor, and opened the window in the living room about 4 inches, and moved other various little things. Crazy! But like I said, no serious damage. We are getting tired of the aftershocks now. It's been almost 3 hours since it first hit, and we are still having decent size aftershocks. Not good for the pregnant mama! It doesn't take much for me to get lightheaded, and the house swaying back and forth doesn't help at all. And they are happening every couple minutes. They don't usually last very long, but still enough to make us sick. The dogs don't like them either. Just one more reason why we can't wait to leave. Can't wait to get back to Idaho where they don't have crazy things likes earthquakes, tsunamis, and all those other natural disasters (at least not very often anyway). 2 weeks! And speaking of tsunamis, you don't have to worry about us being hit by one of those. We are far enough inland, that Japan would have to start falling off into the ocean before it would reach us. :)