Make a Joyful Noise

The Luther College choir was scheduled to attend Unifest (a music festival) in Saskatoon this weekend. We were keeping our fingers crossed that Tom would reach his full H1N1 immunity and still be feeling well enough to join them. His white counts are on the way down, but still high enough to go out in public, so he was good to go!

Thank goodness everything worked out: the folks in Radiation moved his Friday morning treatment to 8 AM, and we were on the road by 9 AM. We joined the workshop/rehearsal at a Saskatoon church - we managed to arrive only half an hour behind them. They practiced for Candlelight - the annual Christmas concert at Luther. Judging by the practice there is another wonderful concert in store for us.

They had more choir time Friday evening and Saturday morning, and then performed just before lunch. I may be a little biased (!) but I thought they were fantastic. I was also impressed by the attitude and behaviour of everyone in the group throughout the trip. 

If you'd like to hear a little bit of one of their songs, I've added a link on the sidebar. If you double click on the still image of the video, it will take you to Picasa Web. Double click again on the image, and the video should start. To return to the blog, page back (click the 'Back' browser button) two pages.

Choir means a lot to Tom, and he had been looking forward to this trip for a long time. It was great for him to have the chance to do normal things again, and see his friends.

We also got to visit with Mike's sister Elaine, hubby Ken and son Zach while up there, and they came out to support the choir at their performance today. Did you know that Ken is my favourite brother-in-law (in Saskatoon)?

The only downside was that Tom was green with envy that everyone else could swim and go down the waterslides, but he could not because of his central line. And unfortunately, he was pretty nauseous this morning and had to miss the morning workshop. So, a green weekend all around.

Seems appropriate on a Rider playoff weekend!

He didn't have a fever, and was feeling well enough to join the choir for the actual performance and trip home, so we're not sure what was going on. Maybe the radiation is starting to affect his stomach - we'll ask at his next treatment if that is a logical side effect.

We plan to take in church tomorrow morning (hey, the Riders need all the extra prayers they can get). Some of the family have tickets for the game, but Tom, Nancy and I will stay at home and watch from the comfort of our living room. Sort of like box seats without any wait staff. But we will have hot appetizers!

Monday, we'll be back to the routine: get his blood counts checked, head to Radiation, and then back to the Clinic for chemo. If his neutrophils are still high enough (1.0 or higher) and he is feeling well, he will try to go to school for the afternoon.

Meanwhile, we sure appreciate your prayers and support. Please keep it up - even if it's just a quick "Hey" to ask God to continue keeping Thomas in his care.

Take care,
Thomas' Mom