Dear readers,

We are sorry this post took so long to put together. The experience took an emotional toll on us and it is just now that we are ready to actually talk openly about it. You may have noticed that our posts ended with Japan back in June. Now that we are past this particular obstacle, we can get up to date with all our adventures over the summer!

(Tokyo, Japan and Honolulu, Hawaii)

While in Japan Sasha’s mother (K) came to visit from Hawaii. She is originally from Tokyo and we wanted to all get together in Tokyo to visit with family and to see how much things have changed since she was last there. Sasha and I found a great little apartment not too far from where her grandmother used to live and two cousins still live. It was not perfect, but big enough for all three of us and in the perfect neighborhood.

We had been talking with her mom a lot leading up to the trip, planning all the people we wanted to visit, the shopping districts to explore, K’s old school and other landmarks to see. There was so much catching up that needed to happen, since we hadn’t seen her in almost two years.

That afternoon just about everything worked out exactly as we had planned. We might have been slightly late to meet her at the airport but otherwise all our plans went according to plan. A very good family friend lives not too far from the Narita airport (see Visiting Paris in Japan), so we decided to visit them first and stay the night with them the day K arrived. They picked us up and we spent the afternoon talking, eating, eating, and eating some more.

That same evening, Sasha’s mom tripped and fell. She was in a lot of pain and had trouble moving around. I ended up carrying her to bed because she was unable to walk. The pain continued all through the night so we took her to a hospital the next day. An x-ray there revealed that there was nothing wrong. The doctor sent us home with a prescription for pain relievers and said to come back in a few days if the pain did not subside. Sasha’s mom rested and sometimes tried to walk but it was very painful for her. We all thought it was just a bruised muscle, nothing a little rest and caution couldn’t fix. Things kept up this way and Sasha and I did what we could to make her comfortable and to help.

Over the next week and a half, it was difficult to ascertain how the injury was healing. Some days K experienced only minor pain, while other days she had trouble moving around. During this time she mostly just stayed in the apartment and people came to visit her. One night things got suddenly worse and she went to another hospital for a second medical opinion and x-ray. Lo and behold, she had a completely broken hip. What a terrible way to spend your vacation! We still aren’t certain if the first x-ray missed the break, if it was a small fracture that got worse, or if something else happened in between. In the end, however, K needed surgery to properly take care of the problem.

Sasha’s mom was determined to get on a plane to get the operation back in Hawaii, but there was no way she could make it alone. In the end Sasha and I flew back with her. I can’t imagine the pain she dealt with sitting for all those hours on a plane with a broken hip. Although the airport hospitality on both ends were really fantastic and going through security and customs with a wheelchair was much smoother than I expected.

Once we got off the plane in Honolulu, we drove her directly to the emergency room. Our friend John was nice enough to lend us his car and a wheelchair that we could use. Without his help I don’t think we could have managed as well. We stayed about 5 days back in Hawaii, but most of the time was spent checking on K, running errands and setting up her apartment for her return. We were able to see a couple of friends, but definitely not all the people we would have liked to see. If we missed you, we’re really sorry! Our next trip back to Hawaii will be longer and filled with adventure rather than errands.

The Japan trip started out great, but quickly spiraled into a trip fraught with worry. I am thankful to report that Sasha’s mom had her operation and is doing much better.

A huge thank you to all the family and friends who helped us to manage through this catastrophe. We could not have done it without your support and love.

OK blog, back to the good stuff!

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