Bonnie update: Note from Katy K.

  

I'm Katy (Beierle) Klinkenberg (that's me in the photo above), a friend and classmate of Bonnie's at Dartmouth. I just returned home from Minneapolis, where I spent ten days living with Bonnie as her caregiver. As many have remarked before me, she has a wonderful attitude, and I think it sits on top of a clear vision about winning this fight. It was remarkable to see her improvement during the 10 days I was there.

When I first arrived -- October 13 -- she had just been released from the hospital, and her parents, Dale and George, were there caring for her. At that time Bonnie was still quite weak, having little muscle or fat as a result of her treatments -- she shuffled as she walked, easily stumbled, and liked to have someone walking at her side to grab onto when needed. She could barely get up from a squat or get out of a car without help, and she preferred not to carry her bags. She was giving herself transfusions in the morning and evening, and was spending 4-8 hours a day at the clinic getting various transfusions there. Right around that time Lauren and Glen Segal came to Minneapolis from California to see Bonnie, and spent quite a bit of time with us; and Kristin came for a day on her way to Indianapolis.

By the time I left, October 23, Bonnie had returned to her characteristic stride, and although slow and measured, she had gone for a number of walks of over half an hour. She climbed two flights of stairs without much difficulty, and in the past two days she's visited the gym in her building to use their elliptical machines. She had a great day last week where she really wanted to go shopping, and had no trouble getting in and out of cars and shops (fueled by her love of shopping, no doubt) as we toured around Minneapolis. Her transfusions and pills were taking much less time than before; she'd had a day off from the clinic when Isabel, Devon and Mike arrived, and had Saturday and Sunday off while they were there.

Last week she was asked at the clinic, how do you feel on a scale of 1-10? She replied that physically she was a 10 (on Tuesday -- the shopping day) and emotionally a 9.

I'll give you an idea of what her life is like now that she's out of the hospital: she wakes up around 7:30, has milk, medication and a self-administered transfusion. Usually she has an appointment around 8:30, and is there for 2-4 hours. They take her blood for various tests, and we would talk, eat breakfast and knit, waiting for results. Transfusions were next; she would be hooked up to her "pole" in a room that usually had five other patients undergoing similar treatment. One other patient was often Betsy, who had been Bonnie's neighbor in the hospital -- it was a boost to see her and her family there. After clinic, Bonnie and I usually had a big hunger attack (one of Bonnie's several new tendencies that I somehow sympathetically picked up), and we'd race for lunch. Twice this was Burger King, which Bon was craving, along with citrus fruits, especially mandarin oranges. Then out for a walk, usually by one of the beautiful lakes, or an errand, and back to the apartment for a nap. Dinners were in, since it was too cold by evening for Bonnie to be outside; and we'd settle in for a long evening of medications and transfusions along with knitting, story-telling and general girl-time before turning in. During those times it was easy to forget that Bonnie wasn't her regular healthy self, laughing and recounting funny episodes, as if we were in a college dorm again.

I would be remiss in not telling a bit about Isabel, Devon and Mike's visit last weekend. The girls were so happy to see their mommy, and didn't hesitate to go to her for reading stories, comfort from falls, and all the things that mommies need to be needed for. Devon sang a sweet little song of her own invention about mommy and daddy. Isabel decorated our apartment with lovely crayon drawings. Mike is a super-dad... it's hard to explain how he does everything he does (ask him about how he pushes the girls in their stroller in the airport, with all the luggage and car seats carefully balanced on a luggage cart, pulled behind him... I was awestruck).

Watching Bonnie heal day-to-day was truly heartening to see. Her friend Lisa Yohalem arrived from Seattle on Saturday night and is there until Sunday the 30th -- Bonnie's in great hands.

By the way, the best way to reach her now is by mail (she is not checking email and doesn't regularly receive faxes):

Bonnie Tonneson
2900 Thomas Ave. S. #2121
Minneapolis, MN 55416

--Katy

Gib's note: For more photos of Katy and Bonnie, click here.