Bonnie

I went to see Bonnie again today.

Now she's in a hospital bed in her living room.  She was asleep, with the television going so that if she roused up she could see what was on it.

I told her I love her and then I talked a little about whatever I could.  Mainly about Danny telling me how to grill steaks... since I'd never done it and that's what we had for Cathi's birthday dinner.   He had seen me outside getting the coals started and called to me.  I walked over and talked to him awhile.

This is all so VERY HARD on him.

After I'd talked to her just a few minutes I could see she was not going to stay awake so I walked back out to the front porch and talked to Danny again.   This whole situation just grieves me.  They are such good neighbors.  So nice.   I LOVE country folks and they are "the real thing".

I wanted to refresh my mind again about how they learned what was wrong.   Just a month ago she was going to work every day.  He said he knew something was wrong because she used to come out and sit on the front porch with him and they'd talk in the evenings.   But it got to where, after work, she'd just go to sleep in the recliner.  If he'd ask how she was, she'd answer, "I'm fine.  I'm just tired."

On the Saturday after Mother's day, they had gone to the flea market at Collinsville.  She got too tired to just walk around as usual and she'd sit and rest.   The next day they went and put flowers on graves.   They hadn't been able to go on Mother's day because too many people asked off for that and he had to work.  (He's the manager at the Foodland in Priceville.)

Anyway, on Monday she called into work.  She thought she had a sinus infection.  On Tuesday, she went to the family practice center up at Morgan City to get a doctor's excuse for work.  It covered two days.

On Wednesday, Danny noticed her speech was slurred.  She blamed it on the medicine she'd got at the clinic.

On Thursday, he was concerned enough about how she was doing that he insisted she go to the doctor.   He was afraid she might have had a stroke.   Her sister took her.  He wouldn't go on to work because he wanted to be sure she was going to be all right.  So he waited for them to get home.

When she got home, he ended up taking her to the emergency room and they put her in the hospital.   They found out that she has bone cancer and cancer in her lymph nodes too advanced to do anything about.

She was in the hospital for about a week.     On  the Friday before Bible School began, I was off from work  and  I was going to go to the hospital and see her, but I saw him outside.  He was building a ramp because they were bringing her home that day but she'd need a ramp to get in the house.  When he told me that, he also told me that hospice had been signed up to come and give her care.

May 31st (Memorial Day)  was her birthday.  She  is 53.

Last night when I talked to him, he said he doesn't expect her to live even two weeks.   He is so broken.  And it really bothers me too.  Bonnie is such a wonderful person.   I can't imagine his life without her, but I don't even like to think of mine without her being over there.

They were never able to have children.  They just became the Aunt and Uncle that every child would love to have.   And they are such sociable people.

My heart is heavy.