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This is a story about an
international couple raising and home educating three
young boys on a small island in Japan, half living in
buses, engaged in organic, self-sufficient farming in
the middle of a mountain forest while dealing with
climate, cultural, and personal challenges. These pages
are about pretty much anything and everything all guided
by our family motto, Taking Chances, Making Changes,
Being Happy. Thank you very much for joining us on our
ongoing crazy adventure.
Comments or questions about this blog?....message me at
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 Huge
Setback
Last Summer I tore the distal bicep tendon in my right arm trying to pull our
car out of a sand dune at the beach. The problem was checked and misdiagnosed
three times on this small island and now I am stuck with a funky looking arm,
albeit still functional. I am still able to do farming, and everything I like to
do, since the bicep has now settled in its present position, up close to my
shoulder.
Then in January I noticed a bulge in my pubic area
(pictures coming maybe....might be a bit too personal) and realized this might
be an inguinal hernia. Still managing to do some light farming, but not sure the
very important Spring farms will happen this year without the help of
family....they are not really into farming though. Anyway, not being able to do
work normally has resulted in a fair amount of depression. I try to pull myself out of
this every day by doing as much as I can in the farms, weather permitting,
adding content to my sites, and of course, playing with my sons. I am no longer
reading the news or worrying about America in an effort to reduce my depression by
staying away from anything negative.
Anyway, after
the misdiagnosis of my arm, and the insistence of the neighbors not to get
anything done on this island, we are heading to the main island of Kyushu,
specifically Kagoshima prefecture, this month to get the hernia diagnosed. This
is a one hour drive to the ferry port on the north end of the island and then a
3.5 hour ferry ride, with the car, to Kagoshima. This is a nine hour round trip
simply to get checked....ugh. The main drawback of being on this island. Anyway,
we plan to stay a couple of nights and turn this into a mini vacation. Wish me
luck as I deal with these problems and my depression.
Update 3/10/2017 - hernia confirmed - Decided to head up north again
to Nishinoomote, the largest "city" on the island to get my hernia looked at and
give this place another chance before heading to mainland Japan. The office
visit cost a total of 220 yen, the copay amount, which is about $1.91 in
equivalent U.S. dollars. I met this incredibly cool guy who has been doing these
kinds of surgeries for about 22 years now. Gonna be totally knocked out and
should be up and running again in about a month after the procedure. Still
planning to do the family 2K run this weekend and see the rocket launch at the
space center next week before getting cut open....again. Then this Summer
heading to Kagoshima to see a specialist about my messed up arm. No worries
though....beautiful island....fantastic friends....naturally grown food....and
most importantly, the support of my incredible family.
Update 3/25/2017 - ready for surgery - This will be the last update
until after the hernia surgery which is scheduled for 3/27/2017....in a couple
of days. Being admitted tomorrow and should be home in a few days. Thanks to a
lot of help from my family, we were able to get most of the Spring farms in
already. Usually do this about a month from now....hopefully the temps warm up
enough for the seeds to germinate and the winds are not too strong. March is
typically a very windy month as evidenced last week when this place was slammed
with sustained winds of 35 mph with gusts over 50 mph. The new seedlings barely
made it. Anyway, all the farms should be at least productive at some level. We
also spent the last week processing the cool season stuff and our 200 liter
storage unit is now filled with white radishes and leafy greens which will hold
us until the Spring stuff is ready. We are growing our stuff with no chemical
fertilizers and pesticides. Simply using a ton of compost made last season and a
bit of chicken poo pellets. Anyway, going to continue the next couple of days
staying away from anything negative, relaxing with music, sitting in the house
view area looking out to the farms, and staying positive. Cannot drink wine now
which kinda sucks but oh well. Anyway, thanks to all of you who are reading
this.
Update 3/27/2017 - cancelled surgery drunk
anesthesiologist - Actually walked out of the
hospital only 6 hours before scheduled hernia surgery when the anesthesiologist
showed up in my room in street clothes, stinking of alcohol, apparently wasted,
and barely able to speak. Still getting
over this procedure being cancelled after spending a month mentally preparing to
get this done. Gonna post the full story when I am up to it.
Crazy shit.
Update 4/24/2017 - hernia slightly manageable now
- Almost a month now since the cancellation of my hernia surgery. The day after
it was cancelled began walking and doing light stomach workouts in order to
strengthen the area around the hernia. Yeah I know many of you are thinking I
should get this done but you can take a "wait and see approach" to this sort of
problem as long as you are sensible. Now up to walking one to two hours per day,
more stomach workouts, eating a high fiber diet, and losing a bit of weight. A
month ago it felt like my entire insides were shifting. Now pretty used to my
intestines settling back into proper position at night when I go to sleep and
shifting back again when I get up. The bulge shows up again soon after getting
out of bed in the morning but now it is not as pronounced and definitely feels
much better. I am going to get the procedure done as soon as we return to San
Diego. My friend and incredible physician of 30 plus years is waiting to put me
back to normal. Certainly will be good to see my daughter and friends again. |
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