I've slept good since I got to Okinawa, but I just keep waking up at the crack of dawn every morning (after dreaming of sleeping in every day once I got here, hehe). After laying in bed awake for a while, I decided to go for a little walk and get some Starbucks (since someone has loaned my coffee pot to their shop for their Marines to use. This person's name shall remain unmentioned). Goodness the weather is so different here from Dallas, TX. It's not hot at all out there this morning but the humidity can almost choke you. Thankfully the evenings have not been like that since I've been here and we had a very pleasant, leisurely walk around American Village last night.
Anyway, so I got to Starbucks and even though they're supposed to open at 6:00 (and it was about 6:30), I guess they're closed today because of the holiday? Oh military base...why are you so silly? Just because it's labor day doesn't mean we the people don't want coffee!! :( So I decided to keep walking another quarter mile or so up to the "Shoppette". For you non-military-ers, this is like a convenient store, the only one of which is open 24/7 in case you need some milk at midnight, or in my case during my last pregnancy, an emergency late night run for sweet tarts. (Yea, I know. Weird). Here was some of my scenic little walk.
Once I got to the Shoppette, I felt like I had just stepped out of a sauna so I opted for a java chiller instead of my original plan of a piping hot latte cause that would have just been gross by this point. Yum! Good choice.
On my walk back home, I started thinking a lot about all the times I had walked that path. I was once a stranger here. Completely lost in this new foreign world. I walked that path trying to bring on labor with Izaak. I took him on walks there when he was a baby. I walked trying to bring on labor with Mav. I took them both on walks there after he was born. One of my very favorite views of this walk (or drive), is going down this steep hill towards the chow hall where you have a wide open view of the East China Sea. Depending on the time of day, the weather, etc, the water is always different colors. Sometimes there are white caps and other times it's very still. I just always, always enjoyed driving down that hill and looking out there and never ceasing to be amazed that I live on the East China Sea! I wish my boys could remember their time here and this place where they were born. But I hope that God has plans to bring us back here as a family one day.
So back to my reminiscing...I couldn't help but quickly tear up as I thought of everything we've been through over the past 3 years that we've been stationed here. Of course, I haven't physically been here for the past 5 months, but part of my heart has still been here. John and I have lived here the longest as a married couple. I became a mommy here. I grew so much as a person and a wife and then a mother. The ups and downs. The failures. The sad times, the happy times. The times I lost faith in God. The times I grew in my faith. The amazing, amazing, life long friends that we made here. I could never be thankful enough for them. You guys have been my rock.
Then on February 21st of this year, I left Okinawa, not knowing that I would never be coming back to live. I really had been getting excited that we only had a few months left here. I was ready to leave. It wasn't until after we were told we wouldn't be coming back, because of Mav's health, that I realized how much I missed this place. Having lived in Dallas the past 5 months, it's made me realized what a simple life we lived here. Sure, there were times I was about driven insane when the commissary was out of orange juice for the 3rd week in a row and Wal-Mart wanted to charge me $25 to ship a shower curtain which wouldn't be here for another 6 weeks. But...my family has been separated for almost half a year now and you know what? In Dallas I could go to like 20 different places within a 10 mile radius that had all the shower curtains I could ever want. And I realized....you know, that's just not what life's about. I've also realized that malls are overpriced and overcrowded and I really have not spent much time at all there. Target sure is convenient, no doubt about it. But I know now that I CAN live without it. I never thought I would say this, but I'm very thankful for these past 5 months. God has grown me in ways that I couldn't have grown without going through this. My heart has changed in so many ways. And just one of the many, many things I have come to realize is, "This world is not my home". I am not supposed to be comfortable here. It's incredible how much control I've been able to let go of. Maverick for example....well, that's for another post on another day. I'm thankful for these trials I've had. I feel like it's been more like 5 years of growth rather than 5 months. I'm so thankful the ways God has reminded me that I don't have control over anything and the ways I have been forced, in a good way, to hand everything over to him and just.....trust. I'm so thankful for the beautiful, amazing family he's given me that I just.....can't say enough about because there are only tears of happiness. And today I'm so thankful that God gave me the opportunity to come back to this place. To this beautiful island where my family began. To remind me again of all I've been given. To realize once more that this world is not my home, I'm just passing through. I am not supposed to stay in once place and get comfortable. I will keep going, keep moving, keep growing, keep learning, keep seeking his Kingdom as my ultimate destination. What beauty, peace, and ultimate rest and contentment is waiting for me there...I just can't imagine. Maybe God and I will have an early morning walk to the Heavenly Starbucks that never closes. Hehe ;)
P.S. Blogger won't let me post pictures right now for some reason so I will add them later!
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Plagiocephaly, Cranial Bands and Insurance
Maverick developed a condition in utero called Torticollis. Because of this, he then developed Plagiocephaly that got worse after he was born from his neck always being turned to one side. When he was 4 months old, we were told he needed to wear a "helmet", or technically, a cranial band, to help improve the assymetry of his head. We were sent to Cranial Technologies to get a Doc Band. These people have been awesome and we're so grateful for them!
Last thursday Mav got his Doc Band off after wearing it for 3 1/2 months. He had significant improvements and we were told he went from having a severe plus plus head shape to a moderate/severe headshape. It was also recommended that he get a 2nd Doc Band. We of course want the very best outcome for our little man, but here's the kicker. We were told when we got his first band that almost in every case, insurance, no matter what insurance you have, will not cover it. We were so fortunate, or so we thought, that Tricare agreed to pay for the whole band!! It wasn't until a couple weeks ago I got a call from our insurance coordinator at Cranial Technologies telling me that Tricare still has not payed them and that she found out that it was the WRONG Tricare (West instead of South) that had agreed to paying for it. We will not know for another couple of weeks if South agrees to pay for it, but most likely they will not and then we will have to work on our appeal since it wasn't our fault that we didn't know it was the wrong insurance who had agreed to pay for it in the first place! Meanwhile, I found out yesterday that Tricare South denied our request to pay for his 2nd band. Unfortunatly, that means paying $2500 out of pocket, and if they don't agree to pay for the first one, that will be $5000. Although I am so glad they have covered what they have for all of Maverick's other healthcare costs, I find it unacceptable that insurances typically refuse to cover these bands unless it's post-surgical. And even though $2500 is a lot, that is with a military discount. The regular amount for civilians is around $3800. There are many many twins out there who require these bands due to conditions that happened while in utero (just like Mav) so those poor families are left with over $7000 worth of bills just for the first bands and over $15,000 if they need 2nd bands. This is completely rediculous and unacceptable in my humble opinion. I think insurance companies need to be a little more educated on this subject! We're not wanting our kids to wear these "helmets" so they look cool and we get tons of stares from people wondering what's wrong with them! John and I were told by the neurosurgeon that prescribed Mav's first band that if he did not have this, he could and would probably end up having a life-threatening surgery later in life that Tricare would have to pay for. So...does this even make sense to not pay for it NOW?? No it does not! Anyway, just thought I would do my part in Plagiocephaly awareness and in the mean time I will pray that one day the insurance big wigs will educate themselves and be on board with this. Thank you Dr. Klugh and thank you Cranial Technologies for caring about Mav and helping him have the best outcome possible!
(I wish I could figure out how to upload his before and after pics but I can't at this time)
Last thursday Mav got his Doc Band off after wearing it for 3 1/2 months. He had significant improvements and we were told he went from having a severe plus plus head shape to a moderate/severe headshape. It was also recommended that he get a 2nd Doc Band. We of course want the very best outcome for our little man, but here's the kicker. We were told when we got his first band that almost in every case, insurance, no matter what insurance you have, will not cover it. We were so fortunate, or so we thought, that Tricare agreed to pay for the whole band!! It wasn't until a couple weeks ago I got a call from our insurance coordinator at Cranial Technologies telling me that Tricare still has not payed them and that she found out that it was the WRONG Tricare (West instead of South) that had agreed to paying for it. We will not know for another couple of weeks if South agrees to pay for it, but most likely they will not and then we will have to work on our appeal since it wasn't our fault that we didn't know it was the wrong insurance who had agreed to pay for it in the first place! Meanwhile, I found out yesterday that Tricare South denied our request to pay for his 2nd band. Unfortunatly, that means paying $2500 out of pocket, and if they don't agree to pay for the first one, that will be $5000. Although I am so glad they have covered what they have for all of Maverick's other healthcare costs, I find it unacceptable that insurances typically refuse to cover these bands unless it's post-surgical. And even though $2500 is a lot, that is with a military discount. The regular amount for civilians is around $3800. There are many many twins out there who require these bands due to conditions that happened while in utero (just like Mav) so those poor families are left with over $7000 worth of bills just for the first bands and over $15,000 if they need 2nd bands. This is completely rediculous and unacceptable in my humble opinion. I think insurance companies need to be a little more educated on this subject! We're not wanting our kids to wear these "helmets" so they look cool and we get tons of stares from people wondering what's wrong with them! John and I were told by the neurosurgeon that prescribed Mav's first band that if he did not have this, he could and would probably end up having a life-threatening surgery later in life that Tricare would have to pay for. So...does this even make sense to not pay for it NOW?? No it does not! Anyway, just thought I would do my part in Plagiocephaly awareness and in the mean time I will pray that one day the insurance big wigs will educate themselves and be on board with this. Thank you Dr. Klugh and thank you Cranial Technologies for caring about Mav and helping him have the best outcome possible!
(I wish I could figure out how to upload his before and after pics but I can't at this time)
Friday, August 5, 2011
"Blessings"
I don't think I'll say much about this song and just let it speak for itself. The very first time I heard this was on the drive to church on a Sunday morning shortly after moving here, right after John left, and when I was just beginning the daunting task of coordinating with insurance and doctors and just desperate for answers for my baby boy. It was perfect timing. Even listening to it this morning had me in tears all over again. I hope it blesses you as well....
"Blessings" by Laura Story
Thursday, August 4, 2011
I'm back....for real this time!
Well friends...I'm back! I see that it's been almost 8 months since my last post and that was just a video of Z Bug. Wow has he changed in 8 months!! Getting back to the blogging world is something I've been contemplating for quite a while. I'm such a private person and tend to keep things all to myself except for a few close friends and family members. But, I don't journal and I feel like this is such a great way to record life and be able to look back at everything. So I decided to give it another go around. I even thought about creating a whole new blog and even took the steps in doing so, but decided to stay here after all. I also decided to keep the title "Island" of love life and learning. Our little island of Okinawa is where our family pretty much began and I'd like to remember it that way. I have so many things I feel like I need to catch everyone up on but that will come in future posts. I won't try to fill in all the missing gaps at one time, so if you're reading a post and are completely lost about something, feel free to comment and ask any questions you want. Our life is crazy complicated to try to keep up with. ;)
For those of you who don't know, I am currently living in Dallas, Texas with Izaak and Maverick while John is finishing up his tour in Okinawa. We are here due to Maverick's health issues and have been apart from John for 4 months. He will finally be coming home next month!! In fact, I'm actually getting ready to go see him 4 weeks from today! I don't remember something I've ever been so excited about in my life I don't think. I left there not knowing I wasn't going to be going back to say goodbye. It's so emotional for me every time I think of Okinawa. There my home still is with all my things in it. There are the friends I left, some of which I know I'll never see again. There John and I lived the longest together. There our 2 precious boys were born. I very much consider that my home and our beginning. I will forever hold a special place in my heart for Okinawa; my Okinawa. My husband laughs at me when I remember the place with such fondness because he likes to bring up the times I cried and complained and wanted to "go home" so badly. I'm not saying that every single day there was a bed of roses. I definitely went through some cabin fever and rough times. But overall, I'm so happy that I got the amazing opportunity to live there, and I hope that one day we can be stationed there again.
Well I guess that's all for this time. I'm actually really looking forward to making frequent posts here now and I'm glad that I'll have an outlet for stories, pictures, memories, and whatever is on my heart. Thanks for following! :)
For those of you who don't know, I am currently living in Dallas, Texas with Izaak and Maverick while John is finishing up his tour in Okinawa. We are here due to Maverick's health issues and have been apart from John for 4 months. He will finally be coming home next month!! In fact, I'm actually getting ready to go see him 4 weeks from today! I don't remember something I've ever been so excited about in my life I don't think. I left there not knowing I wasn't going to be going back to say goodbye. It's so emotional for me every time I think of Okinawa. There my home still is with all my things in it. There are the friends I left, some of which I know I'll never see again. There John and I lived the longest together. There our 2 precious boys were born. I very much consider that my home and our beginning. I will forever hold a special place in my heart for Okinawa; my Okinawa. My husband laughs at me when I remember the place with such fondness because he likes to bring up the times I cried and complained and wanted to "go home" so badly. I'm not saying that every single day there was a bed of roses. I definitely went through some cabin fever and rough times. But overall, I'm so happy that I got the amazing opportunity to live there, and I hope that one day we can be stationed there again.
Well I guess that's all for this time. I'm actually really looking forward to making frequent posts here now and I'm glad that I'll have an outlet for stories, pictures, memories, and whatever is on my heart. Thanks for following! :)
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