The Kaneshiro cousins

Almost right after we returned to Munich, I headed back out again, this time to Hawaii. If you didn’t know by now, my cousin Lynn (blog on the right hand side) found out that her cancer has spread to her spine and is now terminal (and very aggressive). In just a few weeks, she went from general good health and a little pain in her back to being unable to walk or sit up. The news was devastating to me, and I can’t imagine to her family. There was no question about me going back to visit her. I asked if there’s anything I could do, and her brother asked if I could do a “movie” of her with any pictures I had. So, for the few days I had in between the Italy trip and leaving for Hawaii, I scrambled around to get pictures and used a lot from her blog. It came out pretty good. If you’re interested in seeing it, it is on YouTube. I also made 25 copies for her friends and family.

I left on July 25, early in the morning. As per my tradition, I was busy making DVD copies and packing that I didn’t sleep at all the night before. I took the train since it was the easiest thing to do. The flight was amazingly easy and due to an overbooked flight, I even got upgraded to business class from London to LA!!! THAT was AWESOME! So I managed to get a few hours sleep during the flight in one of those completely flat “bed” seats. I was pretty amazed at how easy the trip was. It was long, but not too bad. My favorite airline is British Airways now. Not only is this the 2nd time to get upgraded, but I like the rotating movies that they have, it makes the time go by very quickly.

When I arrived, I had to immediately go to visit my cousin Stacy, since she hasn’t given birth yet. I commanded her baby to come out over the weekend so that I could see the baby before I left. She listed to me! (See more about her towards the end of this post)

On Wednesday, I thought I would have jet lag, but I was up and around and going everywhere. I found a guy that does Super8 transfers to DVD and he was in Kaneohe, so me and my dad went out there to pay him a visit. He even loaned us a viewer so that we could see what’s on the movies. Unfortunately, some of the really old movies are warped and/or badly damaged that they are lost forever. He said that he will try and recover what he can. I also had to go to Kozo Sushi, and then I also found more pictures of Lynn that my dad had, so I went to Kinkos to scan them in and I quickly added it to the movie. I also visited my Grandma and Grandpa in the nursing home. Then in the afternoon, I picked crownflowers and ti leaves to make leis for Lynn and Rob. The Ti leaves didn’t work out so well, so I just had the crown flowers. I pretty much stayed up all night doing this too. Geez, where is the jet lag?

Then on Thursday, July 27, I went to Hilo by myself. I rented a car from the airport and drove out to my Uncle Harris’s house. Only Tricia and Christian was there, but I always have fun talking to them. I finally got to see her “store” in her house. Since Christian likes to cook, he made awesome omlettes for all of us. That was really nice. Then I headed out to Hakalau to visit Lynn. Eric and Ryan were there as well, so it was good to see them too.

It was so good to *finally* see her after this long trip! I tried to hold back the tears when I saw her, but a couple of them snuck up on me. I spent the day eating and visiting with them and massaging Lynn. You know when you’re doing it right because she will let out a “AAAAAHHHHH, that’s nice”. My no-sleep all these days finally caught up with me and I took a little nap at their house and of course Rob had to take a picture of me! I drove back to Hilo and stayed with Uncle Harris folks. They are just too nice. I got the room with internet! :) I had a really mean, screaming headache all night, I think it’s from all the lack of sleep and caffeine withdrawal. Have you ever had one of those? Ugh, no fun.

The next day (Friday), I went back out to Hakalau, not too early. This time, Lynn was in the living room in a wheelchair. It was good to see her out of bed. I think she just got tired of lying in her room. It was also good because I had better access to her back and could massage her easier. Our cousin, Kelli, arrived with her husband Darren and daughter Allison. I haven’t seen her in a long time! Lynn also had lots of friends and other relatives come in and out. She had a lot of love and support around her. My headache was gone (thank goodness) and went back to Hilo in the evening.

Saturday was the big day, Lynn had her celebration. I returned my car to the rental place since I didn’t really need it anymore and I’m paying a lot for it. So my Uncle came along with me and after I dropped it off, we went to Hakalau together. It’s a good thing too because I wouldn’t have found the church. I don’t know why Aunty said that she needed help because by the time we got there, almost everything was done! We waited around awhile and slowly people started to come. I think there was about 150 people total. Many came from Honolulu and the mainland to see her. It was a nice party, but I think it tired her out a lot, she was closing her eyes in between pictures. What a trooper! After the party, we all went over to her house to massage and visit and EAT. So much food!!! I managed to get Michael on the skype and was able to show everyone how it worked, they all liked seeing him. We stayed kind of late because I found out that everyone was leaving on Sunday and no one would be left to help out. I was trying to see if I could change my flight to Monday, but I couldn’t do it online. I finally gave up and we all went back to Hilo. I illegally stayed with my parents and sister at the Hilo Hotel. It was supposed to be for 2 adults, but there were 4 of us. We had to sneak in and out. Kind of funny.

The next morning (this is Sunday the 30th), I found out it would only cost me $20 to change my flight itinerary to the next day, so I did it. It actually worked out perfectly. Eric (Lynn’s brother) and his son Ryan, needed a ride out to Kona and was going to rent a car. But since I’m staying, he caught a ride with my parents and he is on the same flight back to Seattle with my sister. I am staying another day and my Aunty Sharon is also leaving on Monday, so we could leave together as well. We spent the afternoon over in Hakalau, and I talked a lot with Carrie, one of Lynn’s close friends. She adopted her daughter from China, and I asked her all about the process. It’s really interesting and expensive - $30k!!! But she was so happy with how it all went that next year they are going to get #2. She was really, really nice. I spent the rest of the evening pretty much massaging Lynn and I had a nice talk with Rob while we were bbq-ing the meat outside. I also got to know Gary, Lynn’s brother, a little better. I can’t believe I haven’t really met him until now. I was telling Lynn and Eric that I didn’t think Gary existed. :) I figured out a way to massage her back/shoulders really well - I put a little stool step under her bed and since her head area is propped up, I could stand in between the head of the bed and her and reach down and get both shoulders. The first time I did that, she had a HUGE smile on her face and gave out a loud “AAAAHHHH”. Her dimples even came out and everyone was saying that they haven’t seen her dimples all day. YAY! They also gave her a bath this evening and at first they said they didn’t need my help. After all, it’s pretty embarrassing to have people you know looking at your naked body and having to help change her undergarments. That was ok with me, and so I was checking email and about 2 minutes after I walked out, Rob said, “Ummm, Kris, we need your help”. I went in and it turned out that when they turned her to the side, she was in so much pain, that she wanted me to massage her shoulder/neck area. I was so happy I could do something! Then after we got her dress off, they said that they’re ok and could do the cleaning without me. That’s ok, so off I went again. 30 seconds later, “Kris, I think we need you again”. So I went in and massaged some more. Lynn told me “if you weren’t here I would be in so much pain right now”. And that made me feel so happy that I could be of some help to her. I think I went out one more time and got called back in one more time. After that, I just stayed in! I am so glad I stayed an extra day and could help! Very late in the evening I managed to get Michael on skype and we talked with Lynn. He gave her the grand tour of our apartment and she really liked it, even though we got cut off every few minutes. Unfortunately, it was during the boys’ nap, so she didn’t get to see them, but we all enjoyed it none-the-less. I stayed over at her house this evening, since everyone left and they had room.

On Monday, I pretty much spent the day massaging even more and Lynn could barely eat, since it was painful to swallow. Time flew by really fast and before I knew it, we had to go. I kept my tears at bay almost the whole time, but when it was time to say goodbye, the faucet turned on. I know this is the last time I will see her, at least in this life. She gave me a bracelet with these trinkets on it and said that she would always buy something everywhere she travelled and add it to the bracelet and she told me to keep up the tradition. Sniff… I love her and miss her already and hope that she doesn’t have to suffer much longer. And Rob, her husband, is the most amazing person. He does so much and just keeps going, always calling her “beautiful”, making her laugh, and doing his best to fulfill all of her last wishes. My heart goes out to him and his family as well.

Monday evening, my other cousin Ted and his wife, Lisa and son, Shane came and picked me up from the airport and took me shopping at WalMart and Sam’s Club. I had to pick up all my goodies! I bought tons of Cheerios and Grape Nuts and Nyquil/Dayquil, pajama patterns, etc! When we went back to their house, they have me the grand tour - Lisa built the lower 2 levels, she is amazing! She is a wood shop teacher at my old high school and she pretty much makes everything! She has built a boat, many ukuleles, you name it, she’s built it! Their son Shane is also adorable, so chubby and sticky-uppy hair and always smiling! They even got chicken katsu for me from their mom’s shop - she makes the best katsu! Mmmmm…what a feast!

OK, Tuesday, my last day, I ran all kinds of errands. I wanted to go to Boots and Kimos but for some odd reason, there was a long line! So we went to Cinnamon’s, where we always go when Boots is too full. It was ok. Then we went to visit my old dentist’s office (my parents still go there), since the office is in the same complex and they are like family. After that, we went to Daiei, where I found small rice cookers (microwave)!!! I bought one for me and one for Riki. And other misc. errands. I managed to squeeze in a visit with Makato, my newest niece and get some pictures of her, as well as the Otas. It was a very full day!

Wednesday/Thursday, August 2-3, travel day. My flight to LA was at 8am, so we had to get up early. Everything went without a hitch. I didn’t get an upgrade this time, but the flight was alright. The only bad thing was that customs in Germany confiscated all of my Portugese Sausage and Kalua pig!!! No meat was allowed. I was so depressed. They wouldn’t have stopped me except that I looked like I had an awful lot of luggage for one person, so they took me aside. Not only did I not get my sausage, I had to PAY them for it. Geez. I was really sad. Other than that, I was happy to see Michael (he met me at the airport) and the boys. I was hoping for big smiles from them and they run me down with hugs and kisses, but alas, it was like I never left and they looked at me but quickly got distracted by the open kitchen. Humpf!

For pictures of my trip, click here.