Band and Stage Missionaries

Elder and Sister Murset sent us an email that made our day. It included these words and this photo:

"They have been working very hard each day with practicing..."
"The Band is diligently learning many new pieces of music and we are very pleased with all the missionaries progress. They go home tired each day!"
"We have fallen in love with each of your missionaries..."
"Their countenance shows how much they love serving the Lord and they are sure having FUN doing it!"



(Chase is easy to find in the photo, he is in the back row, second from the right. He is wearing a blue and black tie.)

We are still waiting for an email from Chase. Their p-days are not all the same day, so we don't know when his is yet. We can see that he is doing fine! We love the emails from Elder and Sister Murset and will miss them if they slow down, and I'm sure they will.

Rituxan Two

Today Terry got twice as much Rituxan as he did Tuesday, and things still went well. He isn't feeling bad, but he's not feeling really great either. I suppose he is just doing good. :) We are so pleased that the infusion went well this second day. He gets a much higher dose Tuesday so we are anxious to see if it is still okay. We are betting that it will be.

Also reporting:
BrittanyJo wanted to play in the basketball game tomorrow so she went to see the doctor today. He did not give her a release, but said to wait another week and come back to see him then. She is feeling much better but still needs to be careful.

Good Day, but Hard Night!

The good day yesterday turned into a sleepless night for Terry. He gets some pre-meds before the Rituxan, one being a steroid, and that keeps him awake when he'd rather be sleeping. I guess it's a trade off for not having to feel icky from the infusion. I suppose he could take some sleeping meds, but we think he's taking enough meds as it is.

Other news on the home front:
Thomas has been able to harvest a little more of our corn during the last several days or week. It's been on again - off again, due to the fog and other moist weather, but every little bit counts. We like to have the harvest done before Thanksgiving because it just seems to make the holiday nicer to celebrate. Last year we celebrated family and forgot the fields for a minute, so we had a great holiday in spite of the corn still standing. We promise to get it out before this coming Thanksgiving. Just think, maybe we will get to celebrate two years of completed harvest in one! Always something to be grateful for!

Michael is doing well. His letters lately have been short and simple, but still sweet to have. The last one was a little bit more informative and we could tell that he is enjoying his new comp and that for the time being, things are good there in his area.

BJo is on the mend, but it's lingering longer than we'd hoped. We are taking it one day at a time. Last night we watched the State of the Union address and she turned her back to the TV so she didn't watch it for too long. She does try to use the computer and knit so she doesn't get too bored, but still no sports. More time!

Success!

We are home from today's doctor visit and can happily report that the Rituxan infusion went well. Doctor called it a "wimpy dose" and Terry objected to that adjective so she then referred to it as a "low dose". Either way, we are just glad that it went well. We'll go back Thursday for a bit more, and expect it to go well too. Having it go well seemed to make sense to us. We wondered if that was why we were not fighting against it. It was one of those times when the Lord just leads you through things and it turns out better than you think. We are grateful that it has turned out well.

WBC = 2.6 (L) Down from last week, but not critical.
RBC = 3.06 (L)
HCT = 33.3 (L) Down from last week, but not critical.
Neutrophils = 1.5 (L)
Platelets = 33. (L) Still low, but not critical. They are beginning to build back up, or at least for this week. They are up from 12 last week. Doctor made the lab repeat the test to make sure, and the second test proved to be the same. Yeah platelets! No platelets infusion was needed today.

Medical Maddness of a Different Sort.

During the basketball game Saturday night BrittanyJo was knocked to the floor with another player falling on her, which ended in a concussion. She didn't get to play the rest of JV or any of Varsity that night. We took her to the doctor yesterday because of the concern and discomfort/pain she was having and confirmed that things are okay, but she cannot participate in any sport for the week. When we see the symptoms going away we can take her back in to the doctor and he will release her to play again. For now she is to rest her brain and her body. This is a tricky thing. Often when we rest we like to watch TV or be on the computer. She is already failing at the computer thing. :) She is not to do much reading or activity that uses her eyes too much. She really wanted to knit, but that is a no-no for a few days too. She looked through our old annuals with us last night - it's so hard to rest the brain and the eyes. She is going to have a tricky week - I'm sure she'd rather be playing ball. Doctor says that sleeping is good at this point, but I'm sure she will get tired of that really soon too. She's going to wish we hadn't gone to the doctor. :)

End of the week!

My goal to get my tree down and Christmas put away was realized. YEAH! It was up too long, but I still enjoyed it, except for the dead tree. I didn't let it bother me too much because I knew I had other, more important things going on. This was the week it had to come down though and it happened, slowly, but surely. The room is clean and there are places for people to relax again.
My time was consumed with putting things away and cleaning up. Terry and the kids helped with the meals so that I could have more time. It was a big help, making things easier and faster for me. I did have a few dishes to catch up on though.
My cold and head aches kept me slower than I would have normally been, but that too is almost gone. We look forward to attending church tomorrow and a new week to follow. It's almost like I am starting my new year this coming week. Did I wish everyone a happy new year already? Hopefully you are having a good one! We are!

Congrats to Chase!

Chase auditioned (playing the trumpet) and was selected as a 2011 Young Performing Missionary in the Nauvoo Brass Band.

I spent some time this morning google-ing Nauvoo Brass Band and have learned some interesting info. I'm sure it will be a delightful experience for Chase and we are excited for him.

The Nauvoo Brass Band consists of 15-17 band members who are single, high school graduates through the age of 24. It is a 4 month service in the Illinois-Nauvoo Mission of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. He has received his acceptance info, will have his interview with the bishop and stake president, send in his Ecclesiastical Recommend Form before February first and then receive his formal mission call.

This will not take the place of his 2 year mission, but only defer it a few months. His plan is to participate in this performing mission from May thru August and serve a full time mission as soon as possible after that. It is a great opportunity for him.

Band missionaries must live according to the Church Missionary schedule, including companion study, personal study, lights out curfews, remaining at arms length with the opposite sex, wearing appropriate attire, etc. No telephones and no emails or use of computers without the consent of the Mission President.

It appears that they might spend the first couple weeks practicing and learning about 60 songs. They will perform daily and nightly musical shows, on a Band Wagon through the streets of Nauvoo, concerts in the Grove and at an outside program by the Mississippi River. I also saw one place that said that band performers give tours at historic sites on Sunday. I'm sure there is much more to learn, and we look forward to it.

I am grateful for music today. Chase has a wonderful opportunity before him that is partly due to his love for music. Good music speaks to the heart and soul.

Strange things continue to happen:

Terry got a platelets transfusion again today. Still no explanation as to why the platelets are so low, at 12 again or still.
White blood count was 4.0, which is still low, but higher than it's been in a very long time.
Hematocrit is 36.8, again, this is low, but higher than it's been in a very long time.
Neutrophils are 2.4, that's on the slight up swing too.

About the chimerisms test they did earlier - the T cells were about the same and the myloid cells were down. The people at SCCA do not believe that the low numbers are due to graft failure. They do believe that the residual CLL may be repressing the graft. In that case they suggest (the evil) Rituxan as a possible treatment.

Rituxan is the chemo that Terry had terrible reactions to earlier and would not consider having again. They suggest that it be given in small, incremental doses, increasing over a few days if it goes well. I am surprised that we are okay with this. I thought I'd be fighting against Terry having to have Rituxan ever again, but we are both okay with it. I don't know why, maybe that will change, but for now things seem peaceful. We are grateful for that peaceful feeling and pray that it continues.

No extra appointment later this week unless we notice some problems, but Tuesday we head back to Wenatchee for the regular blood draw, the doctor appointment, and the Rituxan chemo treatment. If that treatment goes well he will have another on Thursday and again the following Tuesday and then one each Tuesday for maybe 4 weeks after that. If it does not go well we will probably take a trip back over to Seattle for an evaluation. At least that is what Dr. Smith is suggesting at this point.