Bittersweet (Part 1)

Days after the earthquake and tsunami hit, a new normal was slowly being established around base. We were getting used to the daily aftershocks, several around a magnitude of 5.0 or so, and people started getting back to their daily routines. We were even learning to get used to the planned rolling blackouts that occurred daily on base and around town. The 3 hours or so a day without power became our time to get outside, read a book, or even have friends over to play board games by flashlight. Life was different, but doable. Then, they detected the smallest amount of radiation on base and everything changed. We were told to stay indoors as much as possible, close the windows, and limit outside ventilation. People panicked and ran to the gas station to fill up their cars. This created a bit of a shortage, thus resulting in gas rationing. Due to the rolling blackouts, the already horrible Japanese traffic had only gotten much much worse. People who lived off base were unable to drive onto base. The 20 mile drive to Yokosuka which already usually takes an hour or more was taking several hours and people were canceling doctor's appointments they had scheduled there. I began to get a little concerned with my due date approaching. How long was this situation going to last? What would happen if I went into labor and was unable to get enough gas in my car to make the now several hour trip up to the Navy Hospital?

My husband voiced these concerns to people within his command and the next day, I had promises that if needed, they would put me on one of their helicopters and fly me to the hospital. This made me feel a lot better and I was kind of looking forward to my first potential helicopter ride. Others on base were getting really concerned about radiation levels and the potential for things to get much worse so our base held a town hall meeting. They explained that the amount of radiation that had been detected was less than your tv puts off after a day of use and that there was really no need to worry. The suggestion to stay indoors had been merely precautionary and things really were safe. My husband came back from the meeting feeling reassured that everything was going to be okay. Though my family and friends back home were concerned for my well being, we really felt confident that the situation around base was fine and I was going to stay put. My husband was scheduled to deploy later in the week for a few days to help with relief efforts, but he shouldn't be gone more than a week. So I did what any Navy wife does, stocked up on frozen meals and ice cream and went on with life. Then Wednesday, while I was out for a doctor's appointment, my husband called to say that he was in fact leaving that day and was probably going to be gone for a couple of weeks. I was pretty upset, but since he wasn't going to be gone for that long, I still felt that things were going to be alright and he should be back in plenty of time. The base was still reassuring us that things were fine, and suggesting that we move on with our lives as best as possible. The next day, all that changed.

We got word Thursday afternoon that a voluntary evacuation had been approved and we would all be heading out soon (if we wanted).  Though we were assured that this was mostly just "an abundance of caution" (I think that was the phrase used), most people decided they were going to head out. I still felt safe on base, but I didn't want to be there alone since there was now no way of knowing when the guys would be actually return. As an expectant mother, I would be in the first category and should therefore be one of the first to leave. Over the next few hours, I started doing some packing and prepared to leave within a few days. At midnight however, I got a call from the Yokosuka Labor and Delivery department telling me that since I was so far along, I wasn't going to be allowed to travel with everyone else. They were going to have special Medevac flights for expectant mothers more than 35 weeks along and I needed to be in Yokosuka ready to leave by 8 am. This also meant I wasn't going to be allowed to bring my dog with me, so I broke down. Right then and there on the phone with some poor nurse, I started sobbing.

I've now been a Navy wife for a little over 4 years now. I've met some truly wonderful people and made some really great friends, but I've never seen a community pull together the way ours did in the past week. At 12:30 in the morning, I made a phone call to a lady in our squadron asking if she would be willing to do me a huge favor and take Bosley with her to the States until my parents could pick him up. She agreed without hesitation. I was heartbroken to be leaving him, but truly grateful that she would be willing to do that for me on such short notice. I then called my husband to let him know what was going on. Knowing I was going to be up all night packing, he was concerned about me trying to get up at 6 to drive all the way to the hospital. I kept trying to tell him that I would be fine, but he made a phone call to his squadron anyways, asking if their duty driver could take me. It turned out that they wouldn't be able to, so he was pretty worried. A few minutes later though, (around 1 in the morning at this point) I got another phone call, this time from Jaime, another friend in the squadron, telling me she heard I needed a ride in the morning. I couldn't believe it! She was there around 5 hours later to pick me up and drive me into Yokosuka. I could barely keep my eyes open on the drive up, so I was really glad my husband had made that call!

I got to Yokosuka first thing in the morning, only to find out that there was no flight on the schedule yet and that I needed to just wait around because hopefully they would have one in about 48 hours or so. I was told to just wait around and they would call me when they had something. This was frustrating since I live so far away and didn't really have a way to get back up there in 48 hours. I didn't want to drive my car there and just leave it for who-knows-how-long since I won't be going to that base whenever I did come back. They got me into a room at the Stork's Nest, the mini-hotel they have next to the hospital for women who are close to their due dates and live away from that base. Jaime helped me get all checked in and then headed back while I started waiting. That night I got a phone call from the L&D department informing me that there was no news yet and I needed to just keep waiting. Thanks, that's helpful.

I had been there for just over 24 hours with no hint as to when we would be leaving, when they called me again to say that they would now be willing to write me a letter saying I'm safe to fly if I would like one.  This would allow fly back on a commercial flight or with the rest of the evacuees. I was thrilled. From what I had been hearing the past 24 hours, Atsugi was closer to getting people out of the country than this Medevac flight was and this way, I could stay with Bosley and take him myself. I called Jaime again and she immediately jumped in her car and headed back to get me. I have never been so excited to see our tiny little apartment and my little munchkin as I was a few hours later when I walked back in my front door.

I am amazed at all the phone calls, emails, and facebook messages I've received in the past couple of weeks from people who were concerned about me and baby. I am forever grateful to everyone who's helped me out during this time, whether it's by driving me to and from Yokosuka, helping me fill out the evacuation paperwork, bringing me milk and peanut butter to keep me from going outside, people calling or stopping by to check in on me, and friends just inviting me over so I wouldn't be alone. I feel incredibly fortunate to be surrounded by such an amazing group of women and hope that someday I'm able to be there for you all the way you were for me.