Upon my mother’s initial arrival to the hospital, it became very evident that the level of care here in Okinawa is much more personal than back in the US. After assessing her needs, Dr. Kinjo did not want to move forward with surgery until I had a chance to speak with each of my siblings. He wanted to make sure that we were all in agreement before he performed surgery. My mother, a retired nurse anesthetist, had never seen such a response. I explained that the approach here is much more family oriented. This was very evident and I felt like she was very well cared for from the beginning.