Saturday,

As we reflect on the week that was and contemplate what lies ahead for Bonnie, we are comforted knowing that so many are praying for us and our family. Even though we know what to expect with an extended stay in a hospital room, there remains a level of anxiety of coming to an unfamiliar place in an unfamiliar town.

Bonnie was admitted yesterday afternoon to the Karmanos Cancer Center which leases space within the Detroit Medical Center (DMC) and Harper Hospital. The Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT) unit is located on 10 Webber North. Bonnie’s room is in a little alcove corner at the end of the hall, away from a lot of noisy corridors and overlooks the front of the Detroit Medical Center with views of the Ambassador Bridge to Canada and portions of downtown Detroit.

Some of the amenities that we were accustomed to at Sparrow Hospital, such as warm blankets, an open kitchen pantry, an atrium with large windows, and comfortable furniture in the room are not part of the amenities here at Karmanos. We are, however, thankful for other amenities such as a HEPA air filtration system that does air changes every six minutes which means Bonnie doesn’t need to wear a mask when she walks laps nor are visitors required to wear masks. There are fewer rooms in the BMT wing so the nurse to patient ratio is less than Sparrow. (To all our wonderful Sparrow nurses reading this, we have a great appreciation for the workload you endured, including administering the chemo. Here at Karmanos they have a separate chemo nurse that handles that portion. We were truly blessed for the care you provided to Bonnie! Thank you!)

On Thursday, we had to come down here to outpatient surgery for Bonnie to have a triple lumen central line placed. The surgery went well, however Bonnie was and continues to be sore, particularly the movement of her right shoulder. This central line is quite a bit different from the ones she had a Sparrow, particularly the size of the line, which is much larger and made up of a material composition that interacts with her body such that it somewhat fuses with her tissue, providing durability and longevity.

As mentioned in our previous post, Bonnie starts the chemo portion of the regiment today, which runs through Wednesday. During this time she will continue to feel good and have energy, so she is trying to adapt to the new environment and establish a routine the best she can. Our kids have been asked a few times what address cards and notes can be sent to so here it is:

Bonnie Opper
c/o Karmanos Cancer Center
10 Webber North
3990 John R
Detroit, MI 48201

So, this will be Bonnie’s home away from home for the next 4 to 6 weeks based on typical BMT averages. Once her key blood element numbers have come up and she is stable, she will be discharged and then we will move to outpatient housing for another 6 to 8 weeks (again based on BMT averages). Outpatient housing can either be here on the DMC campus where Bonnie can walk to for follow up treatments or within a 45 to 60 minute radius of the DMC. We are grateful for having an opportunity and option to stay in a fully furnished two bedroom apartment in Sterling Heights, which is about 25 minutes from the DMC campus. It all depends on how well Bonnie is feeling at the time, but regardless, God will provide what we need. It’s comforting to know that God knew our needs before this trial began back in May and He has been providing for us ever since. Deuteronomy 11:14-15 reinforces that which we have been experiencing along the journey:

He (God) will give the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the later rain, that you may gather in your grain and your wine and your oil. And he will give grass in your fields for your livestock, and you shall eat and be full.

We can’t begin to express the depth of our thankfulness for all of your prayers. As Bonnie receives the chemo for the next 5 days in preparation for the transplant next Friday, please pray with us that her body will respond to the chemo as the doctors expect it to with minimal side effects. Also pray that she will not experience any seizures from one of the chemotherapies. Our bodies all have a seizure threshold and one of the chemos lowers Bonnie below the normal threshold so in anticipation of this she is required to take a significant amount of anti-seizure medication to counter the risk. Continue to pray that Bonnie’s body will accept the transplanted stem cells from the donor and that our donor (and his family, if he has one) will be blessed by God in a special way.

Thanks!

Steve & Bonnie