Today brings good news! Bonnie is finally home after a long and "luxurious" stay at the Scripps Memorial Hospital (aka: spa and resort). Since last Sunday night, Bonnie has been confined to her "suite" and tied to her dance partner (aka: IV drip holder), while being injected day and night with numerous bags of various cocktails of antibiotics and God only knows what else. After staying with her for a couple of nights, she no longer had any overnight parties due to her condition having taken a turn for the worse (see previous post).
On Thursday, things really started to look up as her white blood cell count greatly improved, she was no longer neutropenic and did not have to be subjected to a restrained diet. Once the doctors decided on her post-release protocol, they were able to comfortably release her yesterday.
Before she left I was able to at least get Natalie up there for a quick visit. It was nice to see her with her mom, as both of the girls have not been able to visit much at the hospital. This is a strong family and the girls are hanging tough! Thanks to all the family friends who help the girls stay occupied and stick to their schedules.
Tom also did a great job in getting the house disinfected and prepared for her return. Good Job Tom!!
Now that kids are returning to school, and are exposed to more germs (as are we adults) we all need to be extra cautious when considering a visit to her. If you have been exposed at all to anyone with a cold or any type of illness, let's delay the visit.
All joking aside, Scripps Memorial and the staff there have been phenomenal. Every time I have been there with Bonnie, I was so relieved to see that she was getting care from some very special people who genuinely love what they do and who they care for. I know she feels the same way. Needless to say, there all enjoyed her company!
Now, that Bonnie is home, she is committed to resting and recovery. For this reason, we are still limiting the amount of visitors to ensure maximum rest time. This has been an exhausting ordeal and incredibly taxing on her body. Her oncologist has rightly postponed her next chemo treatment by one week in the hopes that her body will recover more and she will be in a stronger place to handle the chemo.
She will also have to continue her antibiotic therapy and most likely with a daily visit to the doctors office to administer the drug. Those nasty bugs she caught are tough ones to kill off.
In the end, after all is said and done, she is still very fortunate to have caught this cancer early and to be able to receive great, quality care. It's no longer the cancer we are concerned about, it's the overall process that's proving to be the most challenging. You all know Bonnie - she's a soldier and she will soldier on like always. Going thru it with a smile big enough to cause you not to notice the missing hair, the port in her chest and the exhaustion behind her eyes.
Thanks for tuning in and continuing to support and pray for bonnie. I and the family thank you from the bottom of our hearts!!!
XO, Heather Gregory
No comments:
Post a Comment