My sister - Bonnie Dickson Hill

Dear Afibber's,

While I have been absent from these Afibber's Forum pages for a number of months (more on all that in another post once I return from Houston), I have been anything other than idle. As usual, I have been more than occupied with the flood of Afibbers who happen to be at that point in their journeys from diagnosis to better understanding their options, where an expert ablation is their main priority giving them the best odds of putting the beast in the rear view mirror. Hence, with the tidal wave of folks finding our unique forum in recent years who meet that description, and who are currently looking for deliberate assistance in pairing up with the most experienced ablation EP they can arrange for themselves, my phone call appointment list is never empty.

In addition, just like the rest of you, I've not been immune to normal life events interceding in my life as well, and though I realize this post technically violates our request to keep this Afibbers Forum section reserved just for AFIB-related topics ... I ask for your indulgence on this occasion to read this personal story very dear to my heart, and that is also AFIB-related to a degree, to boot.

My dear and beloved older sister, Bonnie Dickson Hill, passed away Friday night in her home in Houston, just over two hours after my brother, Walt, and I arrived from Santa Fe and Sedona respectively, to be with our sister who has been entirely bedridden for just shy of 9 years from a (LSPAF) Long-Standing Persistent AFIB-related stroke while on Coumadin. This, after her INR had slipped out of range while still under a hospital's care subsequent to a failed hip replacement surgery for her severe Rheumatoid Arthritis. And, alas, not too long after a similarly botched ablation for her LSPAF.

This was for an advanced ablation that was unbeknownst to me at the time and that was performed by an EP I would have vigorously argued against had I known beforehand. Needless to say, Bonnie had a real run of bad luck during those couple of years, though she made the most remarkable adaptation and showed incredible resilience and good spirit in spite of such a challenging fate. Both Walt and I have been continually amazed at Bonnie's indomitable spirit and her kind and positive demeanor she maintained throughout her nearly 9 year ordeal. Imagine, being unable to get out of bed under her own power for all those years outside of, I think it was, four times the firemen had to come to hoist her out of bed to take her to the hospital for a lengthy stay dealing with a dangerous urinary tract infection! Nevertheless, each time I spoke with Bonnie she was always "Doing fine" and more interested in how my life was going.

In any event, the following obituary conveys so well my sister's life filled with love and in service of others with her dedication to folks with cerebral palsy and other disabilities with her degree as a speech and hearing therapist and through her Nightingale Rehabilitation. Thank you all for sharing in this bon voyage for precious Bonnie!

[www.dignitymemorial.com]

Be well,
Shannon



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 11/04/2018 04:30PM by Shannon.

My condolences and may she rest in peace.

Dear Shannon - My heartfelt condolences to you and your family.
It was a blessing that you and your brother arrived in time for the final farewell
and also a blessing that she is now at peace. Find comfort in your many precious memories.
Kind regards,
Jackie

May you, Magadalena, Walt and all of your family find comfort in quiet celebration of Bonnie’s life of service to others. The wonderful memories you’ll carry with you forever as the impact of her actions lives on. You’re in our thoughts and prayers Shannon.

Peace,

Andy

Good to hear from you, and condolences regarding the loss of your sister. Re Coumadin, it only works while you're taking it.

why no bridging AC (i.e, heparin)?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/04/2018 07:15PM by jpeters.

My heart goes out to you Shannon. Bonnie must have been a truly wonderful person and I am sorry for your loss. Our siblings are a blessing and very precious indeed. Prayers for you and your family.
Jerry Smith

Thank you Shannon for sharing your sister’s amazing life with us. She was truly a gift!
Genie

Shannon:

Our siblings are special, we remember all the things we did together when we were kids and we remember and are grateful for them. My brothers name was Walter, I lost him in 2012 funny how events bring back memories and they are happy and sometimes sad memories. I send you my condolences for the lost of your sister.

Liz

My sincerest condolences, and heartfelt sympathies to you and your family. Very glad you and Walt got to see her. Thanks for sharing her with us.

Hugs,

Clay

Shannon,

Sending love to you and your family.

Service to others certainly runs strong in your family. You certainly have pursued that path also, to the benefit of so many in our community!!

George

She was clearly a wonderful, fascinating woman I'd like to have known. I'm so glad you and your brother were able to make it there in time. May she rest in peace.

Shannon,

I hope you and your family find peace. Very sorry about your sister's ordeal. She was absolutely marvelous to be so positive after all that.

Very sorry to hear of your loss Shannon: Bonnie was clearly an amazing and lovely woman and whilst her loss will sorely hurt, all your fond memories of her will nevertheless shine on in your hearts and minds and I love that her name itself lives on via her great grand-daughter.
Kindest regards to you all at this difficult time,
Mike



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/05/2018 03:05AM by mwcf.

Shannon,

So sorry to hear this. Gail and I send our condolences to you and your family. We will keep you all in our thoughts and prayers.

Shannon,

You changed my life in a manner for the better can never be repaid in any form, that said, someone close to you is close to me, sorry to hear about your loss and all the best.

My condolences Shannon. May your sister finally rest in peace. God bless

Dear Shannon,

I am so sorry to hear of the loss of your precious sister.
You and your family are in my thoughts and prayers.

Becky

I’m so sorry about the loss of your sister Shannon. My thoughts are with you and your family.
Tracy

What a wonderful memorial. I’m glad your sister is at peace now. God bless you all.

Shannon So Sorry for the loss of your sister. My thoughts and prayers are with you. Take Care Brent

Shannon: You certainly are proficient in multi tasking and working through multiple stressors concurrently. It appears you're handling them well and will continue doing the same.

My condolences and wishes for some stress free time for you to catch up with yourself soon.

Gordon

Dear Shannon,
My wife Darlene and I send our condolences in the loss of your sister. Our thoughts and prayers are with you and all your family. Your wonderful support when I had my ablation in February will never be forgotten and I pray you will also be supported in your loss by all those around you.

Pete

Many thanks, my friends, for all of your kind thoughts regarding Bonnie. She was, and always will be, very special to me and so many others whose paths fortunately crossed with hers.

I just returned home to Sedona this afternoon, yet Magdalena is currently in British Columbia getting her elderly 93yr old mother situated in a hospice facility as well.

Take care all!

Shannon

Shannon, God’s speed in this time of mourning. Tammy and I have you and your family in our prayers and thoughts. I lost my Father around 2 months ago. He was in permanent AFIB on Coumadin. He could not afford the newer Anticoagulants. They said he died of a massive stroke. The pain of a lost love one gets easier but family always has a special place in our Hearts.

God’s Speed my Friend
David and Tammy.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/07/2018 09:29AM by smackman.

Quote
smackman
Shannon, God’s speed in this time of mourning. Tammy and I have you and your family in our prayers and thoughts. I lost my Father around 2 months ago. He was in permanent AFIB on Coumadin. He could not afford the newer Anticoagulants. They said he died of a massive stroke. The pain of a lost love one gets easier but family always has a special place in our Hearts.

God’s Speed my Friend
David and Tammy.

Sounds like you're blaming Coumadin. Unlikely....

Hi Shannon, We are sorry for your loss. She was obviously a remarkable woman from a remarkable family. Dennis and Deb

Jpeters said:
Sounds like you're blaming Coumadin. Unlikely....

We are told that taking a anti coagulant is necessary to avoid a stroke, yet I have read on this site of a number of people taking an anticoagulant having a stroke and death. Doesn't matter whether it is Coumadin or eliquis, I wonder about the stats nation wide.

Liz

Quote
Elizabeth
Jpeters said:
Sounds like you're blaming Coumadin. Unlikely....

We are told that taking a anti coagulant is necessary to avoid a stroke, yet I have read on this site of a number of people taking an anticoagulant having a stroke and death. Doesn't matter whether it is Coumadin or eliquis, I wonder about the stats nation wide.

Liz

The other factor is missed dosages, which isn't hard to do but potentially lethal with an AC. A missed dose of coumadin will significantly lower my INR. I have a reminder app on my cellphone with alarms that go off.

Poor compliance is almost always the cause of strokes while taking an anticoagulant.

It's just like plane crashes. The vast majority are due to pilot error, not mechanical flaws with the airplane.

Quote
jpeters

The other factor is missed dosages, which isn't hard to do but potentially lethal with an AC. A missed dose of coumadin will significantly lower my INR. I have a reminder app on my cellphone with alarms that go off.

Assuming her out of range was a low rather than a high INR. From Shannon's comment you can't tell.

Quote
GeorgeN


The other factor is missed dosages, which isn't hard to do but potentially lethal with an AC. A missed dose of coumadin will significantly lower my INR. I have a reminder app on my cellphone with alarms that go off.

Assuming her out of range was a low rather than a high INR. From Shannon's comment you can't tell.

I was over 7 when first prescribed too much. No problem at all. Larger problem is going under 2.0 when you're out of rhythm. Miss one dose and you're there.

Quote: Jpeters::


Larger problem is going under 2.0 when you're out of rhythm. Miss one dose and you're there.

You say it a "larger problem", yet doctors tell you to stop an anticoagulant when going under the knife for an operation, I was told to stop Coumadin, we aren't told how dangerous these drugs really are, look what happened to Shannon's sister.

L

I don't think it's respectful for this thread to devolve into a debate about anticoagulants. Offer your condolences and let it be. I regret having contributed to the debate myself.

My condolences to you Shannon.

Colin

Quote
Carey
I don't think it's respectful for this thread to devolve into a debate about anticoagulants. Offer your condolences and let it be. I regret having contributed to the debate myself.

Quote
Shannon
our sister who has been entirely bedridden for just shy of 9 years from a (LSPAF) Long-Standing Persistent AFIB-related stroke while on Coumadin. This, after her INR had slipped out of range while still under a hospital's care subsequent to a failed hip replacement surgery

Can't highlight the dangers of a "slip" more clearly then this

My mother had a massive stroke about a year ago. Was independent, active, and doing fine. Came suddenly, and she died two weeks later. I am happy about that, because the stroke took out her brain. She wasn't on any AC's.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/07/2018 10:50PM by jpeters.

Dear Shannon,

Reading about Bonnie's life and contribution was inspiring. Thanks for sharing this with us. You and your family are in my prayers.

--Lance

Dear Shannon

My condolences on the passing of your sister. It sounds like she was a wonderful lady and made her mark on the world in many places. How wonderful to have such a loving family and I'm sure she was encouraged and comforted by this, May she rest in peace.




And a PS. Those who feel like arguing the cause please have some respect for Shannon and start a new thread if you feel the need to pursue this.

So sorry for your loss Shannon.


...ron

Thanks for the kind consideration Carey and Joywin, while I didn’t envision this thread about my sister’s death morphing into a Coumadin/OAC discussion, I certainly recognize the connection. And perhaps exploring the issue in a separate thread is a good idea. I basically just wanted to share a bit with all of my friends here in this thread about what my sister meant to me and all of us who had the good fortune to know and love her.

Especially, too, with her long experience with AFIB that we can all relate too. Thankfully, though, for the vast majority of us Afibbers here, not with the tragic consequence that the mistake with Bonnie’s Coumadin dosing in a hospital after her hip replacement surgery forced her and her immediate family to have to endure. And, FYI, she had an embolic stoke i.e. very likely from her drop in INR below range while in the hospital during recovery from hip surgery.

And no offense taken at all, so no worries please on the OAC debate, I fully understand. Yet I appreciate Carey’s point too that a separate thread might better serve to explore the ins and outs of the very real risks that can arise from missing doses of any anti-coagulant drug.

Many thanks again for all the kind thoughts and condolences for Bonnie.

Shannon

My sincere condolences, Shannon. I have donated to the Texas Rehabilitation Center in her memory. God Bless.

Travis

Shannon and family,
I am so very sorry to read of the passing of your beloved sister, Bonnie. I read her obit on the link you posted -- the photo of your sister Bonnie, behind the wheel of a classy convertible, looking over her shoulder with a little grin on her sweet face. My condolences on her loss. Life can have such difficult times even when we realize we are so blessed. RIP Bonnie.

With tears running down my face reading her obituary - what a beautiful human being your sweet sister was. I can see why God needed her back 💕