Kokuas results

Mike if you’re reading this I hope it finds you in good spirits,

Wishing you a speady recovery, I’ll send some good karma your way.

I hope they’ve got thier cutest nurses looking afteryou. Hope this helps put that legenday smile back on your face.

One day a man, who had been stranded on a deserted island for over 10 years, saw a speck on the horizon. He thought to himself, “It’s certainly not a ship.” And, as the speck got closer and closer, he began to rule out the possibilities of a small boat and even a raft.

Suddenly, there emerged from the surf a figure wearing a black wet suit.

The swimmer put aside the scuba gear and the top of the wet suit. There stood a drop-dead gorgeous blonde!

The glamorous blonde strode up to the stunned man and said to him, “Tell me, how long has it been since you’ve had a cigarette?"

“Ten years,” replied the amazed man.

With that, she reached over and unzipped a waterproof pocket on the left sleeve of her wet suit, and pulled out a fresh pack of cigarettes.

He takes one, lights it, and takes a long drag. “Wonderful!” said the man, “that is so good! I’d almost forgotten how great a smoke can be!”

“And how long has it been since you’ve had a drop of good Scotch whisky?” asked the blonde.

Trembling, the castaway replied, “Ten years.”

Hearing that, the blonde reached over to her right sleeve and unzipped a pocket. Then she removed a flask and handed it to him.

He opened the flask and took a long drink. “'It is nectar!” exclaimed the man. “It is truly fantastic!!!”

At this point the gorgeous blonde started to slowly unzip the long front of her wet suit, right down the middle.

She looked at the trembling man and asked, "And how long has it been since you played around?”

With tears in his eyes, the man fell to his knees and sobbed, “Have mercy, woman! Don’t tell me you’ve got golf clubs in there, too!”

Hey guys,

I dropped in on Mike/Kokua today - he is in room 279 now, btw. His body may be tired, but his spirit is strong, which is most of the battle anyway. He was dozing when I went in and I think I tired him out. He can talk now, with some effort, and was really up beat. We chatted for about half an hour and then I split. If any Oahu guys pop by, try and bring him something to read. I’ll try and visit another time.

If you’re reading this Mike, it was great to talk to you. Stay strong.

M

just got home after spending an hour or so with Kokua.

Dropped off a couple of books and a couple dozen of my newest DVDs including that “Hawaiian Healing” one.

He was obviously in alot of pain and uncomfortable but tried his best to talk.

The drugs are really taking him to some strange places.

broke my heart to see him there struggling to get through this on his own with no one else around. He has no connectivity cause he was on dial up and it’s hard for him to move about.

Did my best to assure him to just rest for now and get better so we can bring him food.

I told him it was an honor meeting him and that I hope to meet him onhis home island of Kauai one day soon. I also told him that in my heart his spirit and his heart is truly hawaiian and that I really believed he embodied what being hawaiian was all about. I think it was a little much but I think he needed to hear that from another hawaiian. He told me he thought he was in a heiau and that John was in the room with him. Not quite sure what he meant but maybe this John needs to be there in the room too.

My brother and I will return in the coming weeks but Its tough seeing someone you don’t really know go through that the first time you meet. I’m praying that this is just the initial post surgery phases leading to a quick recovery.

If you can drop by and say hello. Doesn’t seem like there’s anyone else there other than the wonderful nurses…

Rest for Kokua and get better.

No need to talk if it hurts so much…

Mahalo …

Oneula,

You guys who are visiting Kokua are wonderfull. You bring us updates that we are all so keen to but are too distant and unable to follow your lead.

Kokua has given so unselfishly to Sways and I would hope that as a gesture in the spirit of Karma we can recipricate.

it sounds like kokua is hurting and that may be financially also. I would like to put my money where my mouth is and kick in a few $$$ as a gesture of appreciation.

Oneula, could you ask Kokua, that if it does not offend him and he honestly could do with some financial help, that a secure account could be set up to allow some of us to help a mate.

Thankyou so much.

Rickety Rocky

I had a great visit with Kokua today. This was my first time meeting him in person. When I got there, he was being visited by Terry Thompson the President of Kua’aina Sandwich Corp and his wife. We had a great chat. I did not want to focus on his cancer or his pain. I was asking him about his history in Hawaii and how he got involved with glassing. He struggle while talking and wrote a lot of things down. Here are some of the highlights:

1965: Mike came to Hawaii at 17 years old with two friends, one 17 and the other 18. He wanted to stay in Hawaii but his two friends whimped out and they went back to California. He said he was a good kid and never got into trouble.

1967: He got a job with Plastic Fantastic Surfboards and learned how to glass from a big Swed named Gary Thurnagle (sp?). He said Gary was huge around 6’11" tall. He loved the color glass jobs and pinlines at Plastic Fantastic.

1970: He retruned to Hawaii and glassed for Rich Parr Surfboards.

1973: He moved to Kauai and glassed for himself.

He started the label “Kokua Surfboards” in 1996 and that is how he got his online name “Kokua”.

I had to leave to pick up my mom but I wanted to hear more about him. Kokua told me that his story will be continued when I return.

His surfboard glassing history is very rich and he has a lot to share. He is working on getting a dial connection to his hospital room.

It was a great visit and he was managing his pain well.

Till the next visit,

Aloha,

Dennis

hey kokua. i’m sorry to hear you’re not well. i hope you get better soon. prayers have been sent on your behalf. aloha brother.

Uncle D,

Good post and all i can say is if Kokua needs a dialup, he needs help.We can all benefit fromhim being i=online, so some 4TO GET HIM UP AND TYPING HAS GOTTA HELP.

GIVE US THE HEADS UP AND WE WILL HELP HOWEVER WE CAN TO GET HIM ONLINE.

I’m there !

If there’s a safe account, I’d be up for helping out.

Keep us posted, by PM if needed.

Cheers Kokua ! Our thoughts and prayers are with you.

BJ.

We should all organize a way to buy a wireless verizon card for his laptop and get him a couple of months internet service?

If we all threw in $10 - $20 bucks we could cover it. Let’s get Kokuas contected. It will help keep his mind buzy.

Being in the hospital can be so boring.

Oneula can we send the money to you to set this up or am I putting you on the spot?

With all of us here on Sways we should be able to make this happen.

Dial up is a joke. Let’s take care of Kokuas.

Giving is the greatest gift!

Mr. Paler is going to set up a donation button here on Sways and we’ll see what we can do to help Kokua pay for his hospital stay. I also asked him if he could set it up so that folks can also put stuff up for sale in the surfshop here and target the proceeds to the Kokua fund (so if someone wants to help but is low on cash this way they could chip in a spare fin, shaping or glassing tool, surf DVD, or even a board…)

Aloha,

I wish I lived closer so I could visit, Kokuas taught me so much over the years, I’d consider him a master glassed but, he has alwasy remained down to earth, as his kindness always shines through, I hate to think stuck in hospital by himself, and I think what you guys are doing is really great, I’d like to help however I can.

I know there is a link we can send messages to the hospital but I’d prefer to send somthing hand written, could someone give me a postal address

hate to say this as I know you all mean well…

BUT HE NEEDS REST!

he needs to heal a bit more before getting back into the real world

this is the truth and its not a pretty site.

He has a lot of tubes and machines plugged into him now (its scary everyone who’s gone has said so) and I think he even pulled some out so the pain killers wouldn’t cause him to drift in an out of consciousness so often with people visiting. When I got there the machine’s alarm was going off cause one of the IV’s had been moved.

While I was there his throat plug was clogging with mucus and he was too tired and weak to pick up the drain tube to suck it out. I was more than happy to stand there and do it for him Talking probably irritates it causes the mucus to form. He was also grabbing his stomach every 5 minutes and wincing like he was in severe pain. He’s also very thin (or maybe I’m just fat) but they are pumping alot of liquid nutrient’s into his body.

He has a very nice new and big (15"-17") laptop but it’s a small place with alot of cords. He has a tons of DVDs and magazines folks have sent him.

But at this point he just needs rest and to get stronger and put on some weight and heal his throat so he can eat real food.

What would be best if some type of rotation or schedule could be developed so someone could just be there as much as possible, to put a blanket on him if he’s cold, suck the mucus from the hole in his throat or help him go to the bathroom or sit up or set up his laptop or DVD player so he can watch his movies versus the insane hospital TV.

Maybe even act as his surrogate typist to communicate to the rest of you all.

Believe me this is Queens Medical, this is all going to be 5-6 figures in cost I think he said something about QUEST which is a state sponsored program but I’m not sure if he meant that he thought he was on a quest somewhere.

He has alot of friends and I’m sure some type of rotation could be organized if a caretaker schedule gets published online somewhere where folks can sign up to help.

Money is okay, but I think having someone actually there taking care of you when you are hurting like that is much more important. That’s how we were raised and that’s how anyone I’ve ever known has been treated when they had fallen ill. That’s being Hawaiian, that’s Kokua.

The money part is fine but I doubt it will make a dent maybe later when he gets out it’ll be a bigger help.

I have a verizon wireless USB card I use for work and traveling with my netbook. I was debating letting Kokua use it while he is there. It’s kind of weird when you don’t know or have even met the person before. Now that I have I’ll rethink it but alot of things get stolen in hospitals so we’ll see. Need to discuss with my brother about what to. I don’t know if critical care unit like cellular 3G broadband signals bouncing around the premise.

There’s another service from Mobi that doesn’t require contract and that might be more appropriate although WiMax would be better. We’ll need to see what the hospital has and what we can do to get Mike “connected”

but as I said he needs rest and onsite companionship at this point. That’s all he’ll be there for awhile.

Thanks Oneula. You’re a wise man, and for that I’ll be thinking healing thoughts today while I’m working.

I’m visualzing drain tubes. Yuck!

aloha ~

Oneula:

I did not realize his condition was that critical? Please forgive my ignorance.

My prayers go out to Kokuas!

THANKYOU ONEULA,

Bit of a shock to hear how ill he still is and your wisdom and advice is much appreciated so we help but not hinder.

Just let him know we are thinking of him and will be there to help if and how we are needed. Keep us posted.

Rocky

Any news on Mike (Kokua) since Sways has come back on line? Thanks!

Kieth,

Any word on that donation button? I know there is a lot going down right now but it would be a real boost for Kokua if we had it going.

Rocky

Not yet but I am sure it is on the list. Mike offered to do it so I’m sure he will follow through - he always does.