Appendix removed for Bonnie's 40th B-day
Here is an update on Bonnie from Katy Klinkenberg, a Dartmouth pal.
I just spent three days with Bonnie at UCSF Medical Center, and she once again amazed me. Upon arrival I expected to find her flat on her back but instead found her walking down the hall in her pretty orange PJ’s, towing her friend the pole. This was Thursday the 12th. Some of her energy had come back after a rough couple of days as her chemo course ended, and she was chatty and happy. She tired easily and felt weak, but her spirits were up. Friday was much the same and she was busy working on her projects from her hospital bed, getting things in order for Devon, Isabel, Mike and others.
On Saturday, though, things took a turn for the worse. She felt a growing pain in her right abdomen and, following a CT scan later that day, was found to have developed acute appendicitis. She was told it was a result of her chemo. The question at that point was, should she have her appendix removed and risk infection of the surgical site and/or bleeding, or try to control the appendicitis with heavy doses of antibiotics, with the potential that her appendix could burst? In the middle of all this, Devon and Isabel came for a visit, which Bonnie had very much been looking forward to. Her doctors went with the antibiotics option for less than 24 hours to see if she would improve. She did not, and today (her 40th birthday, no less) she had laporascopic surgery to remove her appendix. She was waking up when I talked to Mike this evening, and he said she was doing OK. He’d been there since Saturday afternoon.
Her biopsy scheduled for tomorrow has been canceled, since the purpose of it was to determine if she should continue chemo or not. Instead her doctors have decided that she will not have more chemo during this stay because of the toll it has taken on her. She’ll have a biopsy in 7-10 days, to determine if the leukemia has returned.
What you can do:
** Wish her happy birthday! Her 40th birthday was yesterday, Sunday the 15th. Bonnie would love to have faxes (we asked her this evening what medium she likes best). I saw how much she appreciates receiving messages from her friends and loved ones.
** Keep her in your thoughts and prayers. The next couple of weeks are critical ones for her going into remission.
Best,
Katy Klinkenberg, Bonnie’s friend from Dartmouth days
I just spent three days with Bonnie at UCSF Medical Center, and she once again amazed me. Upon arrival I expected to find her flat on her back but instead found her walking down the hall in her pretty orange PJ’s, towing her friend the pole. This was Thursday the 12th. Some of her energy had come back after a rough couple of days as her chemo course ended, and she was chatty and happy. She tired easily and felt weak, but her spirits were up. Friday was much the same and she was busy working on her projects from her hospital bed, getting things in order for Devon, Isabel, Mike and others.
On Saturday, though, things took a turn for the worse. She felt a growing pain in her right abdomen and, following a CT scan later that day, was found to have developed acute appendicitis. She was told it was a result of her chemo. The question at that point was, should she have her appendix removed and risk infection of the surgical site and/or bleeding, or try to control the appendicitis with heavy doses of antibiotics, with the potential that her appendix could burst? In the middle of all this, Devon and Isabel came for a visit, which Bonnie had very much been looking forward to. Her doctors went with the antibiotics option for less than 24 hours to see if she would improve. She did not, and today (her 40th birthday, no less) she had laporascopic surgery to remove her appendix. She was waking up when I talked to Mike this evening, and he said she was doing OK. He’d been there since Saturday afternoon.
Her biopsy scheduled for tomorrow has been canceled, since the purpose of it was to determine if she should continue chemo or not. Instead her doctors have decided that she will not have more chemo during this stay because of the toll it has taken on her. She’ll have a biopsy in 7-10 days, to determine if the leukemia has returned.
What you can do:
** Wish her happy birthday! Her 40th birthday was yesterday, Sunday the 15th. Bonnie would love to have faxes (we asked her this evening what medium she likes best). I saw how much she appreciates receiving messages from her friends and loved ones.
** Keep her in your thoughts and prayers. The next couple of weeks are critical ones for her going into remission.
Best,
Katy Klinkenberg, Bonnie’s friend from Dartmouth days
posted by gbiddle616 at Monday, July 16, 2007
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