Author Archives: janishaag

for Jenna Tanigawa At 9,375 feet, winging away from Hawaii, I opened the little plastic bag, its green closure yielding easily, and, glancing at the traveler next to me in 14B absorbed in a movie on his phone, I took … Continue reading →

I have to share this today, on his 76th birthday, though he asked me not to out him on his day… because so many friends and loved ones have been following his journey, and he’s overwhelmed by all the love. … Continue reading →

Almost three weeks after his triple bypass, Dick returned to Moanalua hospital in Honolulu today for a follow-up appointment with cardiac physician’s assistant Tim Berkley, one of the incredible team of caretakers who repaired Dick’s heart. I got the full … Continue reading →

The recovery continues at the lovely little house called Aloha Moon in Pearl City, above the historic harbor of the same name. Dick is alternately being pampered and exercised by Cora Johnson and Connie Raub, two of the best women … Continue reading →

When Dick’s mother Elizabeth was alive, she was always so happy when Dick, who had a beard for a good sixteen-plus years, shaved it off. She’d pat his hairless chin and exclaim, “There’s my baby boy!” She was on to … Continue reading →

Update on Dick Schmidt from his care team in Hawaii: Saturday he walked outside, on an actual sidewalk, for a respectable distance. Super Bowl Sunday he was rocking a sugar-free Pepsi and having some chips. (Good sign that his appetite … Continue reading →

ʻanela (ah-nay-la): angel (in Hawaiian) On the first day of February, after being away from home for nearly a month—roughly half of that as planned vacation, half of it not—I returned to Sacramento from Hawaii, winging my way across the … Continue reading →

So many people have offered to fly to Hawaii to stay with/care for/tend to Dick and me throughout this ordeal, and we have been touched by every one of those offers. When it became clear that I needed to return … Continue reading →

So it turns out that if you’re performing CPR correctly on someone—high quality, fast compressions between 100 and 120 beats a minute—it helps to hum a song. One that’s been suggested for years is the Bee Gees “Stayin’ Alive.” You … Continue reading →