Our First Overseas PCS (permanent change of station)

****This was written a couple weeks ago and I tried to post, but only this part of it saved.  There was a lot more that I had written detailing the week before our move.  I refuse to go back and add any more info to it...  Moving forward, not backwards, but I wanted to at least get this out there***


When I last posted, we had just found out that we were moving to Bangkok, Thailand. Now, 5 months later we are days away from boarding a plane and heading to our new home. The last few weeks have probably...no, they HAVE been, the most stressful weeks of my life. Short version for now, but on May 30, my middle son Brosnan (6) was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. He was immediately admitted to Yuma Regional Medical Center. Three days later after we were released from the hospital we went home to begin our new life of needles, insulin, glucose monitors, and finger pricks. I will elaborate on that whole story later. Right now lets focus on the move...

Our original scheduled departure date was June 15th, 17 days after B was diagnosed. There are several factors that go into allowing a service member and their family to move overseas. One major factor is the families health (physical, educational, mental, etc.). Every member of the family is screened through the Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP) to determine if there are any concerns that can not be adequately treated at the next duty station. We were approved a few months ago but with Brosnans new diagnosis we had to start over with him. The original response we received was basically, "sorry, you can't move to Thailand." Thankfully, my husband is not one to take no for an answer so we began doing our own research, making sure that there are pediatric endocrinologists and medicine available. After lots of emails and phone calls my husband had finally received a verbal yes from all the necessary parties, next step was to get all those parties to say yes to each other. So we proceeded as planned with the movers, keeping our fingers crossed that everything would come together.

Which brings us to Friday, June 7th.
Last day of school for Justice, my mom was visiting from Washington state and we were preparing for a garage sale. Saturday morning we woke early and started selling.
Two days and a few hundred dollars later the garage sale was over. We loaded the car with remaining items and donated to the family readiness officer (FRO) to give to young Marines and their families. Sunday night was a mad dash to figure out and separate any and all items that we wanted the movers to take the next day in our express shipment.

Big Changes are Coming!

Last week my husband sent me a text message that was by far the biggest news we have received since I found out I was pregnant with Justice almost 9 years ago. With it, came just as much uncertainty, worry, excitement, fear, and surprise. My husband received orders for his next Permanent Change of Station (PCS) to Bangkok, Thailand. Sometime in June we will be boarding a plane to go to our new home for the next 3 years.

The day I found out I was home from work with Little Justice as he was sick with a stomach bug. I called my mom, who I think was in just as much shock, called my older brother, then spent the majority of the day searching the Internet for any and all information I could find. It was probably pointless research as we knew nothing about anything, other than we were going to Bangkok and justice would be working at the US Embassy. There is no Military base so there is no specific information to search for. It was like looking for a needle in a haystack, looking for something, anything, but having no idea what it was. Since that day bits of pieces of information have been trickling in and with every piece we find out, some questions are answered and others are formed. My wonderful husband tracked down his future co-workers and now I have been emailing one of their wives. I believe she will be my sanity saver now and when we arrive in June, and she has a kid that is the same age as Arcadian!

So, what do I know? I know that we leave in June. I know that we will more than likely be living in a gated community known as Nichada. The boys will go to an international school called International School of Bangkok that is located within the community. Also within that community is a Starbucks :) I know that we have a lot of preparing to do. We are limited in what we can bring with us. Lots of organizing the house into sell, storage, ship, and trash piles! I know we have a lot of paperwork to complete (medical, dental, school, passports, etc). I also know that this is going to be an amazing experience for my family.

-JP