Friday, June 26, 2009

As I leave the country

This Sunday marks my long awaited trip to Japan!! I am going with my family, 15 of us to be exact, for an awesome 10 day tour. This trip is going to be special for several reasons, one is that I am extremely grateful and thankful to be going at all, as my grandparents are paying for it. Secondly, my Grandma and Grandpa Kobayashi are not as 'young' as they once were and I feel that this may be one of the last big trips we'll all be able to go on. Lastly, it will be my first Independance Day spent out of the USA in my 30 years of life... So I am contemplating many things, mostly gratitude and excitement. I'm trying not to get too excited, seeing as though I'm not finished packing yet, only 25% at this point.

And yes, Kobayashi is Japanese....I have a Japanese step family that basically adopted me from around age 7 or 8. It's as if I am half Japanese, but just inherited all of the recessive genes. So I bid the USA a fond farewell....look forward to many stories and hundreds of photos!!

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

A random pic of my pup.


I want to blog, but my patience for uploading pics is low right now, so no blog today, just a cute pic of my pup, Waffles!

Monday, June 1, 2009

unconventional blessings

over the weekend I received a call from a supervisor at work, informing that one of our off duty partners came in to purchase a drink, but in the process of ordering he became non-responsive, his speech became slurred and he couldn't move anymore.

The partners on duty responded immediately to the situation by calling 911, picking the partner up and putting him in a chair (he didn't fall to the floor, but couldn't move from the counter he was leaning on) and called myself and his emergency contact.
It turns out that there was an EMT in training and an RN in the store at the time, so they tended to the partner as best they could while they awaited the ambulance. They suspected a possible stroke, and was rushed to Torrance Memorial.

The next day, as I arrived at the hospital for a visit, I didn't know what to expect. My partner was still in the ICU, so I prepared myself for the worst case scenario. Thankfully, upon sight, we could see that he was doing well and there were no signs of a stroke. It turns out the partner had taken several muscle relaxers and was on anxiety meds, the two are not meant to mix.
The doc told my partner that his heart actually stopped, and he stopped breathing at one point, and that if this event had happened while alone, it was quite possible that he could've died.

My partner is a believer, he has been reflecting on the event and is in awe of how perfectly planned it was.

1. He was scheduled to work on Sunday, but early in the week he got his shift covered, this wouldve been the day after his 'event'.

2. All day Saturday, the partner was moving out of his old house and triggered his old back injury. He was home by 6pm, showered, ate dinner, took the muscle relaxer, and sat down to watch the Lakers game. He was going to stay in for the night, but at halftime thought a caramel macchiatto sounded really yummy, so he went to sbux.


3. The partners working responded quickly,calmly and appropriately.

4. There was an EMT and RN in the lobby that were able to help.

5. His emergency contact wasn't answering the phone, but I know his sister and brother-in-law, so I called every number I had for them and called the BIL's work to get his wife's phone number...within an hour of the event, they knew what was going on and were on the way to see him.

I guess the whole purpose of this blog is to remind us all to take a moment and remember the unconventional blessings in our lives. My partner found himself asking 'why me?' at first, but now he knows it was all in God's hands. This event reminds me to remember the small, unconventional, unasked for blessings that we all receive on a daily, weekly, monthly basis.