Gary Bonjour 1951 – 2008

Gary Bonjour, 57, a life-long Savanna resident, died May 9, 2008.  He was born March 12, 1951 to Glenn and Jean Bonjour; graduating Savanna High School, class of 1969.

Gary married Patricia Vesely on December 6, 1980.  He worked for Lutheran Social Services as a youth and family counselor in Carroll County schools for 25 years.  He was well known for his tireless service to the community.  Savanna Bible Church will miss a faithful member and diligent elder.  Gary fished seriously, hunted successfully, and gardened prolifically.  He enjoyed playing various instruments, camping at Willow, telling people about Jesus, and holding his family close.      

Gary is survived by his wife Patty, his children Alicia (Tony) Streeter of Iowa City, Iowa, Sarah (Randy) DeMeyer of Thomson, Zachary (Krystal) Bonjour of Morrison, and Raymond Bonjour; his parents, Glenn and Jean Bonjour of Savanna; his brother Randy (Susan) Bonjour of Oxford, Iowa; a grandbaby arriving in August and many nieces and nephews.  He was preceded in death by his grandparents.

Special thanks are due to the incredible physicians and medical staff at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Genesis West Medical Center and the entire community of friends, family and strangers who provided support in so many ways during Gary’s battle with cancer.  In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the International Myeloma Foundation or Savanna Bible Church.

Visitation will be held on Tuesday, May 13, from 3:00 to 7:00 p.m. at Law-Jones Funeral Home in Savanna.  The funeral will be on Wednesday, May 14 at 10:00 a.m. at First United Methodist Church in Savanna.  Interment will follow at Savanna Township Cemetery.

Gary went home at 3:08 this afternoon. 

We will post details about the memorial service later.

Thanks all for your prayers and support.

God is still good.

Yesterday was one of Dad’s best days in many months.  That, in combination with the cheery news I relayed yesterday, makes the makes the events of the early morning hours especially perplexing. 

Yesterday evening, Mom and Sarah took Dad to Genesis West for a blood transfusion (fairly routine) and they were all to return home that evening.  The doctors decided that he did not need a transfusion after all, but he was dehydrated from being sick to his stomach the past two days and they wanted to keep him overnight to drip some fluids into him and then release him in the morning. 

At 2 a.m., we got a call from the hospital telling us to come in right away as Dad had sudden respiratory failure, had to be revived several times, and was now in the ICU in very grave condition.  When we arrived, things were not good.  He was on a ventilator and his blood pressure and heart rate were fluctuating to extreme highs and lows and his heart rhythm was poor.  Everything was being done, but Dad was not responding to any stimuli.  His prognosis was very poor, brain damage, not expected to have a normal recovery.  We, Mom and children, decided that it was time to let go of Dad.  All medical equipment and drugs have been stopped.  

Twelve hours later, Dad is still with us, barely.  Dad is resting comfortably and in no pain. The doctors have no explanation for what happened.  It is a mystery.  We do not know what will happen today, tomorrow, or even in the next five minutes. 

As much as we would like to see leaps and bounds, Dad’s progress is still slow and steady. But we are thankful for progress and although he has some bad days, there have no setbacks for the last two weeks!

Sarah reports that dad did an hour of physical therapy on his “bike” (a set of pedals you place on the floor) today and his increased muscle tone is apparent.  He is still experiencing nausea and back pain. The nausea is being addressed with a new anti-nausea drug and a change in pain medication. The back pain is generally present only when he is still for long periods of time and exercise and movement temporarily alleviates it. Two other medications are being discontinued as they are no longer needed. We are awaiting the results from his blood tests to see if his white blood cells and platelets are at good levels. They have been up and down for weeks and can’t seem to stabilize. Dad will go to Genesis for a check-up on the 15th.

Thanks for all of your prayers and support over the past year!

-Alicia

Dad walked quite a bit today (with help).  Several trips up and down the hall, around the living room and dining room.  He is pretty tired after yesterday’s PT session, but he did manage to sit in the recliner and watch a couple movies without falling asleep.    His eyebrows are back and his facial hair is starting to re-emerge.  He still has a patch under his lower lip that never did fall out.  Progress is slow, but we can see small signs of it each day.