Gary Bonjour 1951 – 2008

The schedule is here. Gary will check into the hospital at 9am, Wednesday, January 16. After all the paper work for admission is completed, a PICC line (a type of IV) will be inserted into one of his upper arms. The nurse will start anti-nausea drugs some time after 12 noon. The Anti-nausea drugs, probably two different kinds, will be administered the full time of his hospital stay. At 1 p.m., the nurse will start his chemo, mephalan. This drug will destroy the bone marrow and all the cancer cells. It takes about twenty minutes to drip what looks to be like one cup of clear water in a glass bottle. Mephalan can affect the kidneys and heart. Pray that the mephalan only attacks the bone marrow, especially since Gary’s kidneys are a bit stressed from the first round.

Thursday is stem cell day. About 1pm, a technician arrives with Gary’s stem cells. These cells have been frozen since August. One gets a feeling of being in a sci-fi movie for a few minutes. The medical staff is masked, gowned, and gloved. When the door is opened to retrieve the stem cells, fog billows profusely from the opening. A very slim, about half of an inch, metal case (4inx8in) is pulled from this liquid ice. (I cannot remember the name of the chemical.) The fog is now billowing off the case. The case is put under running tap water for a few seconds, and then put in a warm water bath for a short time. Gary’s stem cells have now been warmed and ready to put into his PICC line. It takes about twenty minutes for the cells to be dripped into Gary. There are only three things in that half cup of liquid: blood plasma, five million stem cells, and a very nasty preservative. The preservative has the same effect as if you were drinking a bottle of syrup of ipecac for the whole twenty minutes regardless of all the anti-nausea drugs. Thankfully, no other treatment is required after that! The rest of the time is for healing. We anxiously wait for the first day when his white cells can be counted. Pray that the nausea, mouth sores, and mucositis are not as bad this time around. Gary cannot afford to lose any more weight.

All systems go. The weather looks good for driving, the apartment reservations are made, and Randy is back from Norway. He is planning to be with us in Chicago some of the time. (The blog posts should be more interesting next week.)

Hospital address:

Gary Bonjour
16^th Floor
Prentice Women’s Hospital
250 East Superior Street
Chicago, IL 60611

Yes, that is the correct hospital. The 15^th and 16^th floors are for hematology/ oncology. The 16^th floor is for stem cell transplants only. I will add the room number when we know that.

Psalm 91:2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him will I trust.”