Escape!

With the doctor’s permission and a list of “do’s and don’ts” and “call me if’s….”, Steve and I were able to leave town for a week and celebrate our 32nd anniversary with a trip along the Oregon coast. The weather and the scenery were beautiful! We left town Saturday morning with only 2 things scheduled – to arrive home Friday night, and to spend the first night visiting my oldest brother and his wife, Ernie and Crystal. No, they don’t live on the coast of Oregon. They actually live about 200 miles inland! But we decided to take advantage of the opportunity to go visit them and then enjoy the drive back to the coast along the Columbia River.

We felt the Lord’s Hand of blessing on our entire trip and especially on Thursday, our anniversary day. That morning began with a testimony we “just happened” to find on the TV of a pastor in Bakersfield, Calif, who was sharing about his struggle with leukemia and how God had preserved his life well beyond the number of years the doctors predicted. We were both really blessed by his entire message.

The photo shows our great adventure riding across the Oregon Sand Dunes. They are amazing and you truly can’t appreciate how massive they are without getting out there and experiencing them. What a marvel God’s creation is!

Our trip was a great escape from all that faces us here and was certainly a much more enjoyable way to spend the final week of waiting for my Stanford appointment than sitting at home.

We leave this afternoon to make the 4-hour drive to Palo Alto (south of San Francisco), so we are there for my Monday morning appointment. We’re ready for answers, but are quite certain we’ll have to wait until the Stanford doctor reviews everything following my appointment, consults with her colleagues, and then consults with my oncologist here.

Please pray that we will soon have some answers!

Lesson Two: Bucks Two Who Duh?

Are you curious about the man whom a young Johann Sebastian Bach so admired that he walked 200 miles to hear him perform? It’s not a name most of us easily recognize is it? Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Handel, Haydn…..these names we know. But who is Dietrich Buxtehude (c. 1637 –1707)?

Our mystery man, the son of an organist and school master, is considered Danish-German as the actual location of his birth is uncertain. Some say he was born in the area known as Denmark and some think he was born in Germany. The year of his birth is also in question. It is estimated as being around 1637. His name at birth was Diderick Hansen Buxtehude, but he later Germanized his name to Dietrich Buxtehude. Since his father was an organist, he was also young Dietrich's first music teacher.

Buxtehude is an important link in music history and in the development of the style known as Baroque music. He was born half a century after Heinrich Schutz, known as the “father of German musicians” and who is considered the founder of Protestant Baroque music, and he was born half a century before J.S. Bach who is recognized as the greatest master of Baroque music.

All of his life he was employed as a church organist, nearly 40 years of which as organist at St. Mary’s Church in Lubeck, Germany. He was famous for his Abendmusiken, which were concerts he started in 1673 at St Mary’s. Vocal and instrumental music was performed at these concerts that were held five Sundays before Christmas. Buxtehude was very proud of these concerts and would have been proud to know they continued for 137 years!

As a well-known and well-respected musician and composer, many musicians came to meet him and attend his concerts. We know from our first lesson that J.S. Bach was one of those visitors. Another well-known visitor was George Friedrich Handel who visited in 1703, two years prior to Bach. Both Bach and Handel wanted to follow Buxtehude at St. Mary’s, but neither one wanted to marry his daughter as that was a condition for the position. When Buxtehude accepted the position at St. Mary’s, he married the younger daughter of Franz Tunder, the preceding organist!

His best and most important compositions are for the organ and there are 120 works of vocal church music that have survived. A large number of his works have been lost. Nothing is known of his compositions during the last 20 years of his life. He used the scriptures as well as church hymns and contemporary or medieval sacred poetry as sources for his texts. Many were written not just as part of his official duties but as an expression of spontaneous emotion. I’ll see if I can find a Buxtehude composition that we can learn in the future.

A little known man to you but an important influence in the lives of two composers whom we do know and whose works we have frequently performed.

You may not be famous someday, but you may have great influence in the life of someone who may become famous. What will they say about you? Will they say that your life was dedicated to spiritual matters and that you were an inspiration and a good example?

Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father, which is in Heaven. Matthew 5:16

It's a wrap

Saw the orthopedist on Monday and was referred for physical therapy. He will follow up with me in a month. I had my first physical therapy appointment this morning and now have exercises to do at home in between appointments. The therapist advised me to keep my ankle wrapped with an ace bandage as it will heal faster if I can keep the swelling under control. The swelling was contributing to the pain and weakness I was experiencing last week; it was irritating the soft tissues. There appears to be a nerve that was damaged as I have a numb spot on my toes, but we’re hopeful that “feeling” will return as the swelling subsides and healing continues. I will return for therapy again on Friday morning.

Jennifer continues to improve and her recovery seems to be going quickly for what the usual course is for mono. She sleeps a lot at night, but her afternoon naps seem to be happening every other day now instead of everyday.

No news on my cancer. It just continues to eat away inside me while we wait for our appointment at Stanford, October 1. We continue to rest in the fact that the Lord is in control in spite of what appear to be frustrating set-backs.

Progress?

Things are finally moving forward again now that my oncologist has returned from vacation. She promptly got the situation straightened out at Stanford and they called yesterday with a new appointment and with the correct department this time. So now I will be seeing a Bone Marrow Specialist on Monday, October 1.

The swelling in Jennifer’s throat has gone down considerably. Now that she is no longer on the prednisone, she is well aware of the fatigue from the mono, but she does seem to be improving a little each day.

The healing in my ankle seems to have regressed over the last several days. Since removing the cast there has been a really tender spot on the top of my ankle right where it should bend. It seemed to be getting better, but now it is much worse and my ankle feels quite weak. I’ve gone back to walking some with the crutches just so I don’t have to put full weight on it all the time, and I don’t want it to give out on me and have another fall. I see the orthopedist on Monday and am anxious to know his opinion on my progress and in particular, this one location of movement restriction and pain.

Today was my monthly gamma globulin infusion. These infusions kept me healthy all last year so I am grateful we received an approval from the insurance company for another year. Continuing with these infusions will be a critical part of my treatment plan.
I am given a dose of dexamethasone (a steroid) just prior to my treatment to reduce the possibility of a reaction to this blood product. Consequently, I sleep very little or not at all the first night. Since I need to drink lots of fluids for several days following, I just sit up, watch TV or read a book, and drink, drink, drink.

I have a great team of nurses and staff at the infusion center who have become friends I look forward to seeing every month. The pleasant environment has certainly minimized the dread of being hooked up to an IV for 6 –6 ½ hours every month.

The Lord responds to your prayers and supplies the strength and courage we need to live each day. We are grateful for your dedication to pray on our behalf especially with the delays we have experienced that have brought times of frustration. However, we have been filled with peace to trust His timing in all things.

Lesson one: Bach to the future

In our concert last spring, we performed two pieces by Johann Sebastian Bach. Red Bluff Choir sang an arrangement of a selection from Bach’s Christmas oratorio called “Come Raise Your Voices” and Redding Mixed Chorus sang a vocal arrangement of “Bouree, from English Suite, No. 2”.

There are more than 50 musicians bearing the name “Bach” (which means "brook" in German) that are remembered by musicologists today. The most famous and prolific composer out of this remarkable family is Johann Sebastian Bach, 1685-1750. It was no simple task after his death to collect and publish his many musical scores. It took 46 years to complete and filled 60 huge volumes, and yet, only 10 of these compositions were published during his lifetime. This is a phenomenal amount of music that included chorales, cantatas, masses, oratorios, passions, concertos, and solo works for virtually every instrument known during his time. Any student who has sung in a choir or played an instrument has studied compositions by this great musician. Can you imagine how exciting it might have been to have lived at the same time and hear him personally perform or teach you one of his compositions during a music lesson? Can you imagine how famous such a remarkable musician must have been during his lifetime? Yet at the height of his fame, he left the only secular position he ever held, royal choir-master in the court of Prince Leopold, and chose instead an obscure position as music director at a church in Leipzig because at heart he was a church musician.

Internationally, Bach is recognized as one of the greatest composers in history. This is amazing in light of the secularization of our world today since Bach was truly a Christian composer. He was primarily a church musician whose convictions were the same as those of Martin Luther: “Music’s only purpose should be for the glory of God and the recreation of the human spirit.”

Who was this man? Did he devote every waking hour of his life to composing music? He was a humble man who was the father of 20 children, several of whom were noted musicians (i.e. Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach). His family had a reputation for their hospitality consequently their house was rarely free from visitors. He was an organist, a conductor, a music director, a private instructor, even a teacher of Latin to young boys. Also, the family moved frequently as his jobs took him to various locations throughout Germany. I think we would all agree that he was quite industrious and productive with his life!

Orphaned when he was 9 years old, he moved in with an older brother and began his musical training. He soon developed into an outstanding singer and demonstrated a remarkable ability to play the organ, the violin, and numerous other instruments. His primary instrument became the organ. He was fascinated with this instrument and revered the famous organists at that time. It was not unusual for him to walk 30, 40, or 60 miles to hear one of them perform. The most famous organist at that time was Dietrich Buxtehude (1637 – 1707). When Bach was 20, he begged relentlessly for a month’s leave of absence from his position as a church organist, in order to have the necessary time to walk the 200 miles to hear Buxtehude perform! Profoundly inspired by the master and knowing that he risked the loss of his job, he sent word back to his employer that he needed 2 months off instead of just one!

After this experience, he announced his ultimate purpose in life: to create “well-regulated church music to the glory of God”. In fact, all that he did, he did to the glory of God. Even at the beginning of two of his works, Little Organ Book and Little Clavier Book, which seemingly have no spiritual significance, were the words “In the Name of Jesus” inscribed. He also would frequently initial his blank manuscript pages with “J.J.” (Jesu Juva – “Help me, Jesus”), or “I.N.J.” (In Nomine Jesu – “In the name of Jesus”). At the end, he routinely initialed the letters “S.D.G.” (Soli Deo Gloria – “To God alone, the glory”). These were sincere expressions of his personal spiritual devotion and he continually sought connections between his faith and his art. One of his favorite passages of scripture must have been 2 Chronicles 5:13 as this was found written in the margin of his Bible:

“Where there is devotional music, God is always at hand with His gracious presence.”

What kind of music do you listen to? What would you consider “devotional” music? Do you sense His presence when you listen to your music of choice?

The week that was!

It has been quite a week! The high point, however, was the baby shower for my daughter-in-law, Holly, on Sunday. (Photos coming soon!) The rest of the week wasn’t so good. Jennifer has been really sick for a couple of weeks and Johanna took her to the walk-in clinic 3 times this past week. First time the diagnosis was strep throat and she was sent home with penicillin. After 3 days she was worse so she returned and was sent home with a stronger antibiotic. She continued to get worse and on Sunday morning when preparations needed to be done for the shower that was in the afternoon, Johanna returned to the walk-in clinic with her for the 3rd time. While they were gone, my wonderful husband helped me prepare the food for the shower. He learned many valuable lessons in food prep, that he may need to know in the future, and his hands have never been so clean! She was sent to the hospital lab for some tests and was sent home with pain pills. Johanna returned home just in time to go to the shower with me and poor Jennifer had to stay home.

We had a wonderful time at the shower making sure my grandson will be suitably outfitted! By the time we returned home, Jennifer’s throat was almost completely swollen shut and her tonsils were terribly inflamed and infected. So Team Rosten (Mom, Dad, Johanna, and Jen’s friend, Jeff) loaded up and headed for the ER. The waiting room was packed so we braced ourselves for a long wait. However, within a very short time we were seeing a nurse for evaluation (triage) and were taken in for care. The nurse looked up the blood work from the morning and said that it hadn’t been marked for a rush and wouldn’t be back for several days. Great! Also, they hadn’t ordered a spot test for mono, which she was quite sure was Jen’s problem. The walk-in clinic had told her they would order the spot test in the morning……hmm. Anyway, she got a shot of steroids to keep her throat from closing up and then my poor baby got a terrible, burning muscle spasm from the shot! As if her throat wasn’t painful enough. We are relieved how quickly she is improving now as she continues on the prednisone and antibiotics for several more days. She was positive for mono so her recovery time is unknown.

In the meantime, my paper work arrived from Stanford. In looking it over, I became quite confused. My appointment was with the bone marrow transplant department and they were requesting copies of tests I haven’t had completed and contact info for all my siblings for tissue matching! My oncologist has just returned from vacation and someone finally returned my call Tuesday afternoon regarding the situation. Sure enough, my appointment was made with the wrong department! So, I no longer have an appointment on the 24th and several weeks have been wasted waiting. My oncologist was going to personally call and try to get this all straightened out and get a rush on an appointment for me. I think she thought I would be seen while she was away on vacation and be ready to move forward when she returned.

Another frustration this past week – In order to determine how long this disease has been brewing in my bone marrow, it was necessary to obtain all my medical records back to the point where there was a normal, healthy blood count. Unfortunately, in February 2005, just as my numbers were dropping and were at the bottom of normal, our wonderful family doctor became ill. We waited 6-7 months hoping he would be able to return to his practice, but at the end of that time he had to retire. It took several more months to obtain our records and get appointments with another doctor. Steve & I ended up seeing 2 different doctors. He has had a good experience and mine was not so good. Consequently, I was without a primary care doctor for a couple of years and just used the walk-in clinic when I was ill. It has taken me several months to get my records from the 3 visits with this interim doctor. She did a lot of lab work because I told her how fatigued and weak I felt. She said everything was fine; I just needed to lower my cholesterol, lose some weight and exercise more. Isn’t that what we all know anyway?! Well, I finally got my records only to discover that my labs were not normal – my white blood count, my red blood count and my immunoglobulins were all way below normal! I should have been referred to a specialist 1½ years ago!

Needless to say, I have been quite discouraged at times over the last few days, but am doing better. I keep reminding myself (and my family and friends keep reminding me!) that in spite of these frustrations and delays, the Lord has me in the palm of His hand and the timing of all things in my life are under His control.

I don’t know how people cope with life’s frustrations without knowing the Lord and having the prayer support of friends and family. It is my lifeline especially at this time! When I was at my lowest at the end of last week, “perfectly timed” phone calls and cards in the mail brought hope and encouragement. I continue to be touched by the way God speaks through my friends and family just when it is needed most!

Check back for this week's music lesson that will be posted later today or tomorrow!

Singing the Blues

It was a sad day for me today as I realized it is the day I would be registering the Red Bluff Choir and tomorrow the Redding Choirs. I always look forward to choir beginning in the fall and seeing my returning members and anticipating new ones joining us. I will miss the busy process of choosing music suited to each choir and the task of starting our rehearsals with the basics of learning the notes, the words, the interpretation, the memorizing, and finally rehearsing our stage presence. The reward for our labors is the final product so beautifully presented and enjoyed by our many guests. And, yes, there are scary moments when I wonder if we’ll be ready for our performance!

I hope that the process of committing your music to memory has filled your hearts with many songs you can recall and enjoy this Christmas even though I will not have the opportunity to fill you with more.

I have been so touched and my heart so warmed by your visits and various forms of communication over the summer. Thank you for letting me know you are standing with me in this battle through your continued prayers. As you pray for healing, please pray that the Lord will sustain my health during this time of waiting.