Jocie's room at Landstuhl hospitalLast winter (2008), in mid March, Jocelyn called us from Germany saying she was experiencing shortness of breath in a dramatic way. She couldn't do her ballet jumps or climb one flight of stairs without stopping to catch her breath. She thought a rib was 'out'. She wondered what Dave's symptoms of collapsed lung felt like. She researched the internet and wondered.
Within a few days, when the symptoms didn't go away, but got worse, she went to the doctor.
Without an X-ray he pronounced some diagnosis and gave her an inhaler.
Symptoms continued. One doctor told her she had LAM. That was lousy news that turned out to be a false diagnosis, thankfully.
Next doctor visit got the X-ray done, but no 'reading' or analysis was done at the time.
Jocelyn was shopping at the commissary when she got the call, do not pass 'go', do not collect two hundred dollars, go straight to Landstuhl hospital. Not so easily done with melting ice cream and three small children. But she went. Roland met her there and took over kid/grocery duty while she had a chest tube put in.
Two days later, lung reinflated (they thought) she went home. But she didn't feel better. In fact she began to feel worse. Roland was going to depart soon for a trip to the states and she realized she needed to act before it was too late. She needed to go back to the hospital and Roland's training trip was canceled. Sure enough, the lung had recollapsed. Chest tube #2.
I had already made plans to fly over and help her with recovery and kids, knowing that recovery from a chest tube/collapsed lung is not easily done if you have a full plate of caring for kiddos at home.
By the time Kenzie and I arrived (see photo below)the news was that Jocie was flying a C-17 the next day to Bethesda Naval Hospital for surgery. Dave and David were flying to Washington, DC to be with her, and in the next 12 hours it was determined that Roland and Anna could fly with Jocelyn. All of a sudden I was caring for Wesley and Tommy (with Kenzie's invaluable helping hand) in a snowy German landscape, driving unfamiliar roads (sort of) and managing the details of getting permission to purchase items on the air base by myself.
Just arrived and waiting permission to get onto base
at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center (LRMC)
in Landstuhl, Germany.
The early morning of departure to the states, Roland and I drove to LRMC, left Anna with Jocie (that was tricky as Jocie was attached to her bed and Anna attached to her car seat...but we got a nurse to mind them) then buzzed over to Ramstein to get my ID card made, checked in with his work (so I could also meet his commander and talk over more details about permissions, SOFA agreements, customs forms/permissions to drive their car), then buzzed back to Landstuhl in time for lining up in the hallway for departure by bus to..you guessed it...Ramstein. Mingled with the healthy soldiers were others on guerneys, like Jocelyn. It was quite a crew of people, but what struck me was how young everyone was. I realized again, the military is made up of young people in their 20's and 30's. By the time you are my age you are either retired or a colonel!
I kissed them all goodbye and drove down the snowy mountain that Landstuhl medical center sits upon. It was comforting to know that Kenzie was in charge of the boys, likely still sleeping cozily in their beds, while all this last minute running around was accomplished. I stopped at the nearest Wasgau store to pick up some fresh pastries and fruit. It was great to be back in Germany. I was actually more familiar with the German side of life than I was the military side, picking out delicacies at the counter, using the polite German words, paying for it all, saying goodbye, immersing myself again in the culture, was wonderful.
Kenzie and I cared for the boys for the next 10 days, through good weather and bad. Our overriding goal was that the boys feel emotionally (and physically) safe and secure, and limit the distress of being without their parents. I extended Kenzie's stay by two days, and eventually extended my stay by about 10 days. I flew home the day after Jocie, Roland and Anna flew back from the states. My mom flew in the same day I left, and my sister in law flew in a week later to help. Mom stayed for two+ weeks and Kathy stayed for a month! I am grateful to my mom and sister in law for stepping in to help when I had to get back to my own family and teaching.
