Okinawa Japan!

Okay.. First thank you to everyone *****sponded to my plea for advice/opinions! You gave me so much to think about in such a short time. After sitting down and talking with my DH for a couple hours last night we did decide on Okinawa. It wasnt an easy decision to make either! There are so many good points to Okinawa that we didnt see any other option really. Okinawa offers so much more then the other choices we had. Now Im making my appt to get my medical clearance to go overseas. I have to make sure my RNY isnt going to stop us. If it does then we will end up in China Lake, Ca... I cant see why my RNY would stop me though, I will be more then a year out by the time we travel and I can get my follow up care done at the Naval Hospital in Okinawa. Plus my surgeon has agreed to give me a letter stating that he feels Im good to go overseas. Plus he will continue to monitor my bloodwork via email for me.. My medical records show that I need to continue with the B12 shots monthly, and also that I need to take carafate whenever I take any kind of pills. The carafate is just a safety net since I had some erosion in my pouch early on.. So basically I have no real medical problems.. I will keep you all updated on what is going on! Keep your fingers crossed for me please! Im actually excited and looking forward to going! Amber

Good luck Amber we will be waiting to hear what japan is like. hope the best for you. love marie

Morning Amber, I've been reading your posts and the replies. Congratulations on getting to go to Japan! I read Jamie's reply to you and it opened my eyes to the difficulties you all face as service families. Prior to that I had been thinking "how great to get to go so many places and visit such exotic 'ports of call'" ... of course only seeing the surface of the whole thing, forgetting how wrenching it must be to leave extended family and friends and venture into "unknown territory". I'm a 56 year old woman who's never ventured much further than living 30 miles away from my home town (which is in the middle of the USA, smack-dab in the middle between Memphis and St. Louis, and has had a population of 17,000 for as long as I can remember ... doesn't say much for progress does it?) I stayed in the other town only for about 3 months and then moved back, using my children as the excuse saying they'd be around family and friends if something happened to me. Now it's something I regret because I feel I missed out on all the experiences living elsewhere would have added to my life, not to mention the "people" I might have met (seems like I've been divorced since the last Ice Age!) and the changes they might have brought to our lives. So it seems like I'm rambling on here, but all I want to say is ... go for it!!! You're a young person with a whole life still waiting on you ... and you get to spend part of that in Japan!!! How exciting! I'm so happy for you. So if you needed an "other side of the issue" perspective ... that's mine. Don't end up being 56 years old and saying to yourself, "Man, I wish I'd done that!!!" All the best from the armpit of Missouri (AKA sleepy little Sikeston, Missouri) Myra G

Myra, You just made both me and my DH laugh pretty hard.. You said "exotic ports of call"... talk about exotic- pretty exciting to land in a port just to find out your confined to a compound full of sand (Dubai, UAE)!! Not all ports are bad, there are some great ones.. Ive got some great gifts from a few places!! Its just not as great as you would think.. For one your time is so limited- plus so many things are outside of the bounds so you cant go see them.. Yeah its great for them to get off a ship and have some fun, but at the same time its not like a vacation!! Ill be sure to set up pictures so you can experience everything that way!! I plan to do as much as I can and see all that I can.. Amber

Mmmmm, I wonder if you can get a good deal on a beautiful strand of pearls... Hugs, Loris

Omedetto! (That's Japanese for "congratulations!") You have an exciting adventure ahead of you, and one I'm sure you and your husband will truly enjoy. Kix

Good Luck I hope you guys have a great time and please keep us updated! {{{{{{{{{{{{HUGS}}}}}}}}} Jamie

Amber, I hope Japan is a wonderful experience for you! If it is not, it will be an experience, nonetheless! Good luck! Stay in touch with us though, okay? Lori