Sunday, March 22, 2009
A Big Thank You!!
Dearest Hon and Sster:It is raining heavy at this night hour and the cloudys are lowering over Mt. Olympus- by morn there will be snow to be sure.
Hope you folks enjoyed the Sabbath and the opportunity to attend the Draper Temple Dedication. I think it is marvelous and probably completely exhausting for President Monson to preside over 12 such services in 3 days.
Want to let you know and thank you again for your thoughtfulness in bringing me a handky from the Denmark Temple Dedication. I have about 4-5 handkies I considered using ( all white) the one I used is the one you folks gave me .
It seemed very appropriate to me.
Have a good week. Love Helen
Myrna wrote: You are such a sweetheart! We love you.
Today the sky is gray, the clouds are heavy and it is snowing. We ended up meeting as two stakes together last night for the televised dedication. We were having such heavy winds here and our stake's satellite was moving so much that the signal could not be maintained. We all moved up to the North Stake Center. Of course, with more than 2,500 people, it was very crowded but we did have the spirit there and it was great.
Love, M
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Raymond and Karen's Daughter Death
Raymond is Pearle and Fred Smith's youngest child and the brother of Gordon Smith.
Gordon Smith wrote: Dear Family,
We are sending you the obituary for Raymond & Karen's daughter, Melissa, and Raymond's email address, if you desire to send a note of condolence to them. The obit. was in the Daily News of Blackfoot, Idaho,
today. Her service is Monday. We are going up to support them.
Love ya, dad and mom.
RymndKar@aol.com
BLACKFOOT — Melissa Dene Gallegos, 37, the daughter of Raymond and Karen Smith of Blackfoot, died peacefully in her sleep on March 18, 2009 in Blackfoot, Idaho.
Melissa Dene
Gallegos, 37
BLACKFOOT — Melissa Dene Gallegos, 37, the daughter of Raymond and Karen Smith of Blackfoot, died peacefully in her sleep on March 18, 2009 in Blackfoot, Idaho.
Melissa was born May 24, 1971 in Salt Lake City, Utah, to Darla Dene Jensen and Gordon Walter Snow. She moved to Blackfoot when she was 9 months old to live with her aunt and uncle, Raymond and Karen Smith, who raised her to adulthood. Melissa attended school in Blackfoot, graduating from Blackfoot High School in 1989. She made friends easily and was a loyal and loving friend to many.
Melissa married Michael Gallegos in 1987. They were later divorced but have remained good friends.
Melissa worked for many years as a waitress at Martha’s Café in Blackfoot and later at Oakridge Convenience Store. She lived for a short period of time in Pocatello and Montpelier but later returned to live in Blackfoot. Melissa was a good worker and always gave full measure to her employers.
Melissa’s crowning glory was her three sons, Tason, Adrian and Logan. She loved them fiercely and they were her life.
Melissa is survived by her parents, Raymond & Karen Smith of Blackfoot; her father, Gordon Snow of LaVerkin, UT; her children, Tason Gallegos, 21, of Salt Lake City, UT; Adrian Jimenez, 18, and Logan Smith, 12, both of Blackfoot; her brothers, Wade Smith of Lake City, FL, Bryant Smith of Gypsum, CO; sisters Susan (Layne) Anderson and Stacy Smith, both of Blackfoot; brothers, Gordon Snow and Frank Woolsey, both of Salt Lake City, UT; brother, Jerry Diat and sister, Holly Diat; brothers Darren, Eric and Jon Hardman, all of Springville, UT and sister, Leslie Nielsen of Spanish Fork, UT. Also surviving are many aunts, uncles, cousins, and numerous nieces and nephews. She will be dearly missed by her entire family.
She was preceded in death by her mother, Darla, an infant daughter, Angela Karen Jimenez, and her grandparents.
A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. Monday, March 23, 2009, at Hawker Funeral Home. The family will meet with friends and relatives from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Sunday, March 22, 2009 at the funeral home and again for one hour prior to service. Interment will be in the Grove City Cemetery.
Myrna wrote: Thanks for keeping me in the loop. She was so young. Did she have cancer? That is the worry we all have that our youngsters will die before we do. She certainly was a beautiful woman. What will become of the youngest--the 12 year old? Will Raymond and Karen give him a home? Love, M
Hi Myrna, Melissa had health problems for a long time. All that is known is that she died in her sleep.
The services were very nice, with a great attendance and support. It was good to see Karen & Raymond's family, they are so scattered we never see them, just hear about their activities. Bryan conducted the services, he is or has been a Branch President, and he did very well. The services were
family oriented and family participants. Monte and Wynette drove up there from Ioka (Roosevelt). It was so good to see them too. Wynette said she saw you at Suzanne Farrer's mothers services in Nephi. That was a pleasant surprise for her. As for the boys, the oldest is living in Salt Lake and attending the Community college there, Adrien will graduate this year from high school and will have to decide what he
desires to do, and Logan, the 12 year old has been invited to live with his father and his family, so that is where it stands. Raymond and Karen's door is open to give them love and support, a place to live, or whatever their needs are. They have given the boys great support in a myriad of ways up to this point. They have been given a good foundation, now their agency will have to step in. Worries and concerns never end.
Hope all is well at your home, we enjoy your emails. Gordon tells me about them, and sometimes I get to read them. My computer skills are terrible, as you can see. Love, Gordon & Roberta
Hi, Again from Helen
Sorry to send you to responses to your e-mail- I sent the first one and it didn't send, according to the screen, so rewrote. When I sent the 2nd one and it was into the sent page the first one was also there. Oh Well, repetition brings conviction. Right??? of course right from Fiddler on the Roof. Love Helen
Shawn Trauntvein Kid's Schedule
Kimberly wrote: Here is the kid's schedule. I forgot to send this with Grandpa, could you give it to him?
Monday:
Brigitta work @ 3pm-5:30pm
1st day of 4th term, Tuesday:
Brigitta school, A-Day, 8am to 2:30pm
Dane school 8:05am to 2:55pm
Take garbage out.
Feed fish and cat and crabs.
Brigitta work @ 3pm-5:30pm
Wednesday:
Brigitta school, B-Day, 8am to 2:30pm
Dane school 8:05am to 2:55pm
Pull in garbage cans.
Feed fish and cat and crabs.
Brigitta work @ 3pm-5:30pm
Dane/Brigitta Mutual 7-9pm
Thursday:
Brigitta school, B-Day, 8am to 2:30pm
Dane school 8:05am to 2:55pm
Feed fish and cat and crabs.
Brigitta-no work.
Brigitta and Dane be respectful of each other, and of Grandpa. Clean up after yourselves. Homework and chores before computer time.
Myrna wrote: I hope you can think of something great to do on the way home! Maybe Sorina will sleep because she is tired out. We were so happy that the older two were with us. Dane helped put the swing set together on Saturday. He even found a screw to replace the one Mary buried in the garden. Then, of course, we went to the temple dedication on Sunday.
Friday, March 20, 2009
About Bree's Health
The doctors think that Bree has pseudoseizures. According to the medical dictionary, psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES), or pseudoseizures are paroxysmal episodes that resemble and are often misdiagnosed as epileptic seizures. Paroxysmal nonepileptic episodes can be either organic or psychogenic. Syncope, migraine, and transient ischemic attacks (TIAs) are examples of organic, nonepileptic paroxysmal symptoms. The seizures are very real and involuntary. They may be harder to control because they do not respond to the usual non-seizure medications. There are treatments but, as of tonight, David had not learned from the doctors what those might be. They do have an around-the-clock nurse stationed in the room now and her observations may be helpful to the medical staff. David had been doing a lot of the care himself and was having a difficult time getting a stat crew into her room. He said they told him that it just seemed like a long time to him but he said it was a long time. Sometimes stress can be a trigger but the seizure response is much like a migraine, there are many different triggers and, I am supposing (but am not certain), it will take a bit of time for the doctors to find the stressors. This is an involuntary illness and the seizures cannot be controlled by strength of will. Given my choice of response, and I am certain Bree feels the same way, I would take migraines over this. LHT had experience with a friend who had seizures and he said it is obvious to him that Bree's are very much like his childhood friend's. He had epileptic seizures.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
About Bree
I takes about 3 1/2 hours to get to Grand Junction, CO, from Nephi. Dad went down and spent the afternoon. While he was there, Bree had another seizure. When he got home tonight, he tried to call David but the phone was off. He said they both were tired, and since David was staying the night, perhaps they were both napping, but I think the hospital still may have been doing tests. Dad just called David's cell phone and not the room.
Just before Dad left, at 5 p.m., they were getting Bree ready to take her to have an MRI. They told them it would take about and hour before they would do the test. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) uses the magnetic properties of body tissues to create a detailed image of the brain. It takes about 45 minutes. When it is used for people with seizures, a certain protocol is followed, to be sure that there is a clear image of the areas of the brain where seizures are most likely to begin.
Earlier they gave her an Electroencephalogram (EEG) to measures electricity in the brain (or brain waves). Electrodes are used to see if there are any seizures and/or any abnormalities that might lead to seizures. The doctors did not find anything wrong when they did that test. But, after that test she had another seizure.
Dad says the first seizure happened when everyone was asleep. Bree was up with Caydin and felt her arm go numb. She went to her mom's room and woke her before the seizure happened. The doctors at the nearby hospital were unable to stop or control the seizures so they sent her via air to St. Mary's hospital in Grand Junction. Dad says they have been keeping her quieted with medicine trying to keep things under control.
So she is in room 318 (or was, the nurse said they might move her) at St. Mary's in Grand Junction, CO.
I know you all love Bree, as I do, and are praying for her. I just worry that this might be some sort of flare up of the cancer she had as a child. I also pray that that is not the cause and that it is something simple. I have a friend at the temple, one of the 60 women I work with, who gets seizures whenever she gets a fever--even a low grade fever. I hope it is just something like that. The women has had this problem since she was a child and is 70 now. It is scary for her family but she just works to keep all fevers controlled.
Enough rambling. I love you all, M
Just before Dad left, at 5 p.m., they were getting Bree ready to take her to have an MRI. They told them it would take about and hour before they would do the test. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) uses the magnetic properties of body tissues to create a detailed image of the brain. It takes about 45 minutes. When it is used for people with seizures, a certain protocol is followed, to be sure that there is a clear image of the areas of the brain where seizures are most likely to begin.
Earlier they gave her an Electroencephalogram (EEG) to measures electricity in the brain (or brain waves). Electrodes are used to see if there are any seizures and/or any abnormalities that might lead to seizures. The doctors did not find anything wrong when they did that test. But, after that test she had another seizure.
Dad says the first seizure happened when everyone was asleep. Bree was up with Caydin and felt her arm go numb. She went to her mom's room and woke her before the seizure happened. The doctors at the nearby hospital were unable to stop or control the seizures so they sent her via air to St. Mary's hospital in Grand Junction. Dad says they have been keeping her quieted with medicine trying to keep things under control.
So she is in room 318 (or was, the nurse said they might move her) at St. Mary's in Grand Junction, CO.
I know you all love Bree, as I do, and are praying for her. I just worry that this might be some sort of flare up of the cancer she had as a child. I also pray that that is not the cause and that it is something simple. I have a friend at the temple, one of the 60 women I work with, who gets seizures whenever she gets a fever--even a low grade fever. I hope it is just something like that. The women has had this problem since she was a child and is 70 now. It is scary for her family but she just works to keep all fevers controlled.
Enough rambling. I love you all, M
New England Marriages Prior to 1700
Date Posted: Mar 19, 2009
Description: This is an excerpt from New England Marriages Prior to 1700.
You will need to enlarge the photo to read the print!!
Date Taken: 7-23/2008
Place Taken: FHC-Houston
More About Bree
The doctors think that Bree has pseudoseizures. According to the medical dictionary, psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES), or pseudoseizures are paroxysmal episodes that resemble and are often misdiagnosed as epileptic seizures. Paroxysmal nonepileptic episodes can be either organic or psychogenic. Syncope, migraine, and transient ischemic attacks (TIAs) are examples of organic, nonepileptic paroxysmal symptoms. The seizures are very real and involuntary. They may be harder to control because they do not respond to the usual non-seizure medications. There are treatments but, as of tonight, David had not learned from the doctors what those might be. They do have an around-the-clock nurse stationed in the room now and her observations may be helpful to the medical staff. David had been doing a lot of the care himself and was having a difficult time getting a stat crew into her room. He said they told him that it just seemed like a long time to him but he said it was a long time. Sometimes stress can be a trigger but the seizure response is much like a migraine, there are many different triggers and, I am supposing (but am not certain), it will take a bit of time for the doctors to find the stressors. This is an involuntary illness and the seizures cannot be controlled by strength of will. Given my choice of response, and I am certain Bree feels the same way, I would take migraines over this. LHT had experience with a friend who had seizures and he said it is obvious to him that Bree's are very much like his childhood friend's. He had epileptic seizures.
Helen wrote: Dearest family: thank you for the update. David's and Bree's names are on the prayer rolls of the 3 valley temples. On Monday I put them on the Draper Temple prayer roll. I did read in the paper that the Draper Temple is open for patrons starting Monday. You may have read in last weeks Church News- the Salt Lake Temple will be open on Mondays from 7 a.m.-11 a.m. starting the 6th of April. Enjoy the dedication tomorrow.
Thank you for keeping me informed. I am keeping Nanci informed by sending a copy of your e-mail to her. Please know David's, and Bree's names are on the prayer rolls of the 3 valley temples, on Monday I will put them on the Draper Temple also- I read an article in the paper that it will be open on Monday for patrons. You may have seen the article in the Church News Saturday last about the Salt Lake Temple will be open on Mondays from 7.a.m.-11 a.m. starting on Monday 6th April. Enjoy the dedication tomorrow. Love to each of you. Love Helen
Helen wrote: Dearest family: thank you for the update. David's and Bree's names are on the prayer rolls of the 3 valley temples. On Monday I put them on the Draper Temple prayer roll. I did read in the paper that the Draper Temple is open for patrons starting Monday. You may have read in last weeks Church News- the Salt Lake Temple will be open on Mondays from 7 a.m.-11 a.m. starting the 6th of April. Enjoy the dedication tomorrow.
Thank you for keeping me informed. I am keeping Nanci informed by sending a copy of your e-mail to her. Please know David's, and Bree's names are on the prayer rolls of the 3 valley temples, on Monday I will put them on the Draper Temple also- I read an article in the paper that it will be open on Monday for patrons. You may have seen the article in the Church News Saturday last about the Salt Lake Temple will be open on Mondays from 7.a.m.-11 a.m. starting on Monday 6th April. Enjoy the dedication tomorrow. Love to each of you. Love Helen
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Please Pray!
David called this a.m. about 8:30 a.m. He was heading to Grand Junction to the big regional hospital there. Bree had seizures last night and the doctors were unable to stop the seizures so they airlifted her to the hospital. Dad left right away, after getting the call, to go to be with David. We debated whether I should go or not but he didn't want to wait for Julie to get here to help with Rachel. He took his cell phone and promised he would call to let me know what the prognosis is.
ABOUT THE FLU PANDEMIC FROM HELEN
Helen wrote: Folks: the e-mail below is from a very good friend- am sending it on. Love Helen
John Gifford wrote: I received this from a colleague of mine who worked at the USH Forensic Unit.
ABOUT THE FLU PANDEMIC
I found this to be quite interesting. Do with it as you will.
"About a month ago a seminar was put on by Dr. Susan Puls, who is a cardiologist appointed by the First Presidency of the Church as the head of the church's pandemic committee. She said she was not an expert on pandemics as this was not her speciality, but in the two years she's been in her position, is fast becoming one. She now works for the church on a full-time basis working on planning for the pandemic and trying to get the word out to as many church members as possible. There were about 1400 people at the Saturday all-day seminar.
In her capacity, she works with the governor's pandemic committee and the federal pandemic planning agency. She also said a pandemic is coming - not 'maybe' but is DEFINITELY coming. She says the pandemic is expected within the next two years but she personally believes it will be 'sooner rather than later...' The various groups (CDC, WHO, etc...) do not know what the pandemic will be but 'first among their list of suspects is the avian bird flu. It's only one mutation away from being easily transmitted from birds to humans and from human to human.'
She said the World Health Organization expects 40% of the world population to become sick. Of those who become sick, they expect 50% will die. If you do the math - there are over 6 billion people on the earth today - that puts the death rate at over 1.4 billion people - and she says these deaths will happen over only a 3 to 4 month period of time.
Dr. Puls related that when the pandemic hits the US , mandatory quarantine's of all infected and NON-INFECTED peoples will occur within the first 48 hours. Only emergency personnel (Dr's, nurses, firemen, police, national guardsmen, etc...) will be allowed to leave their homes - not even to go to the store, etc... This quarantine will last during the duration of the 'pandemic cycle' which will last approximately three months.
Her main point was that everyone will need a *MINIMUM of 3 months supply of food at home* as the governments of the world will be overwhelmed within the first week and cannot be counted on to provide food, medical help, etc...
She only briefly spoke on the 'social disruption' that will occur and did not go into any detail about what plans may, or may not exist, to deal with this. However - think about this - if your neighbors (both those you know and strangers) run out of food and are starving how might they react? Then think of all the individuals who already live outside of the law and are only 'controlled' by our current legal system. How might they react when law enforcement becomes ineffectual due to illness among the ranks and those who abandon their jobs to stay home and protect their own families. Ditto for the national guard and our own military.
This isn't to scare anyone - just to provide a 'heads up' as 'to be forewarned is to be forearmed.'
That's the end of the e mail. I try and check the authenticity of emails such as this so I Googled Dr. Puls and was eventually linked to the Church's Provident Living website and was surprised to find that they have a section on Pandemic Planning under Home and Family Preparedness.
The government also had a website:
I found it very interesting that in the Church's new pamphlets on food storage, they recommend building your supply up to a three months supply. As you can see in the article, Dr. Puls states that everyone will need a minimum of three months supply of food at home.
I think this quote from Elder Perry's Conference Talk (Oct 2008) has application here:
*Thoreau's final necessity was fuel.* We have been hearing a lot about fuel and energy-about their high cost and limited supply, our unsafe and unpredictable dependence on their suppliers, and the need for new and sustainable sources of energy. I leave the discussion of these complicated issues to leaders of government and industry. The fuel I want to discuss is spiritual fuel.
The Lord has given us a beautiful plan about how we can return to Him, but the completion of our mortal journey requires spiritual fuel. We want to emulate the five wise virgins, who had stored sufficient fuel to accompany the bridegroom when he came (see Matthew 25:6-10 http://scriptures.lds.org/matt/25/6-10#6). What is required to maintain a sufficient store of spiritual fuel? We must acquire knowledge of God's eternal plan and our role in it, and then by living righteously, surrendering our will to the will of the Lord, we receive the promised blessings.
As Elder William R. Bradford taught at this pulpit: "In righteousness there is great simplicity. In every case that confronts us in life there is either a right way or a wrong way to proceed. If we choose the right way, we are sustained in our actions by the principles of righteousness, in the which there is power from the heavens. If we choose the wrong way and act on that choice, there is no such heavenly promise or power, and we are alone and are destined to fail" ("Righteousness,"/Liahona,/Jan. 2000, 103;/Ensign,/Nov...1999, 85).
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