Gary Bonjour was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in April 2007. Multiple myeloma is a cancer that affects blood plasma cells.
Gary received chemotherapy treatment over the summer and his first stem cell transplant at the Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago in September. His second stem cell transplant took place in January 2008. Although the transplant itself was eventually considered a success (in that it put the cancer into remission), he experienced a severe allergic reaction and was gravely ill for weeks. More complications and setbacks occurred, and he remained hospitalized for nearly three months. He improved enough to return home, and for two weeks, slowly worked at regaining his strength. On May 8, he went to back to the hospital for what was to be a simple overnight stay to treat minor dehydration. Early the next morning, he experienced respiratory failure of unknown cause and died the following afternoon.
Soon after the diagnosis, this blog was created to help his family communicate to everyone without having to repeat a lot of information (click here to read it). Feel free to leave comments if you’d like to offer words of encouragement or just say hi.
If you’d like to help contribute to Gary’s medical expense fund, visit garybonjour.chipin.com
Thank you for your support!
