Last week was a huge week for Joe. He had his regular doctor and chemo appointment on Monday the 12th. It went well but we were told that his white blood cell count was down as well as his neutrophil count. The neutrophil count is important because if it drops below 1.0 then they will either have to stop his chemo treatments for awhile or at the very least decrease the dosage. On the 12th his was at 1.2, not much room for error. So they tell us for him to be sure and be careful about being around anyone sick and if he should develop a sore throat or a slight fever, to call them at once. Of course, that Monday is the same day my cold started kicking in. It made for an interesting week trying to keep my distance here in the same house. However, Joe had a busy week of preparing for the church choir's Christmas music as well as his 4th Annual "Christmas Piano by Candlelight" concert. Both of which were this past Sunday.
First the choir's performance. They were magnificent! I don't use the term lightly either so please believe me when I say it. Never have they sounded so wonderful and the sanctuary been filled with more beautiful music. Everyone in the congregation for both the 8:30am service (I did not attend except to take photos) and the 11:00am service was mesmerized. Joe had arranged for a string quartet, french horn, flute, clarinet, piano and organ to accompany the choir and the sound was so full and glorious. I wish everyone could have been there to hear it. I was so proud of Joe and the entire choir. I still smile thinking about it.
Even Jill was a "trooper" and agreed to put on one of the choir robes. She played the piano beautifully and we are so grateful to her for stepping up once again and helping Joe out.
Once the 11:00am service was over, it was time to transform the sanctuary for Joe's candlelight piano concert and then for him to practice some on the piano.
This is only 50 seconds of a couple of hours of rehearsal at the church on Sunday afternoon. However, it paid off big time as his concert was a resounding triumph (yes, I know I'm getting carried away with the praise, but I can't think of another way to describe it). Thank you so much to the 170+ people who came out Sunday night for the concert as well as the 3 people (Rob, Lola & Bert) in Connecticut who we Skyped in on my iPad2. They had the best seats in the house. Lola referred to them as the "Royal Box Seats". I have heard from several people about how nice it was to spend an evening listening to his beautiful music and to just slow down for an evening during this holiday rush time. Afterwards, the senior high youth had arranged a reception for Joe in the fellowship. They went all out with multi-colored lights hung around the walls and wonderful refreshments. A big thank you to all of those that put forth such effort to make the reception happen. Sunday was certainly a long day at church. I counted the number of hours we spent there on Sunday and it was more than 10. Needless to say, we both got lots of religion that day.
Yesterday, Monday the 19th, Joe had his last doctors appointment of 2011. We were a little nervous about what his white blood cell and neutrophil counts would be since I had been sick around him all week, but it turned out ok. Actually better than ok. His white count was up a point and his neutrophil was at 1.7 so he was able to have his usual chemo infusion without any change. YAY!
This weekend at PGUMC we will have 2 Christmas Eve services. The one at 4:00pm is geared toward families and is a lot of fun as it is interactive with all the kids in the church. The 7:00pm service will be a more traditional communion service. If someone is looking for somewhere to spend a lovely evening on Saturday, please consider the door at Pleasant Grove open and welcoming for you to stop in. On Sunday, we will have one 11:00am service and then Joe and I will be off to Greenville to have Christmas lunch with his family and exchange gifts. Then on Monday we will be in Hope Mills with my family. A bit different than we typically do Christmas but we are very grateful that we are able to travel this Christmas like we have always done. Last year with Joe just getting out of the hospital and undergoing his radiation treatments, both families had to come here. It's much easier for 2 people to travel than it is for 9.
Joe and I both hope that everyone has a wonderful Christmas and New Year. We are so very grateful for all our friends and family and the prayers and good wishes that we have felt all year long. Although this has been a difficult year, we have grown closer and have never felt more loved and cared for in all our lives. Thank you for the gift of love that everyone has given us.
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