Lonnie’s Journey

14/12/2025

Almost a year exactly.

This first holiday season without you has been so hard.

21/10/2025

🚨Graphic Content Warning 🚨

So, this is Sarah. She was one of Lonnie's first nurses at Baptist after HIPEC. We hit it off right away and became friends. She even helped me with LT while I was learning how to deliver Lonnie's TPN. I didn't understand how she wasn't sick of me!
I kind of lied about how Lonnie passed. It wasn't peaceful. He began hurting himself, requiring to be held down, calling out and thrashing. He began vomiting a thick black substance and became combative. I knew the man I once loved was gone. I watched and listened as he sounded like he was drowning in his own body. I held his hands while he had a catheter placed because he tried to fight it. I held him to the bed to keep him from trying to force himself to vomit - all while he begged me to stop. I have nightmares every night about his last few days.

I genuinely thought I had to- and could- endure his passing alone. Sarah knew better. She came and sat with me. She let me talk, she helped me weigh Lonnie as I looked at the shell of himself he had become. She gave me the freedom to be brave and lighthearted in that moment. She helped us grab rags as Lonnie vomited and took his last breath. Sarah held me while I made calls to notify loved ones of his death. She checked on me and always made sure I was doing ok because she knew I wouldn't tell her otherwise.

Tonight we went to dinner and she helped feed LT while I ate. We caught up, we laughed, we told secrets.

Sarah is the reason I belive in guardian angels.

15/08/2025

https://www.greensborofh.com/obituary/Lonnie-BolenJrn

Lonnie was the most incredible human I’ve ever met. He was compassionate, humble, funny, and such an amazing listener. Lonnie taught me how to listen and communicate, he showed me a new kind of joy found in watching others succeed, and he inspired me to be a better person.

I’ve never felt safer than when next to Lonnie. He was so transparent and honest. Lonnie had a way of making everyone around him feel welcomed and loved. There was always room in his heart for someone else and their dreams.

Lonnie truly wanted to see everyone succeed and he continuously put others before himself. He truly was too good for this world. He was perfect in every sense of the word.

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13/08/2025

A celebration of Lonnie’s life will be held on Sunday, August 24, 2025, at 2:00 PM at North Baptist Church in North, South Carolina (405 Stafford Ave, North, SC 29112). The service will also be livestreamed on the Lonnie’s Journey page for those unable to attend in person.

In honor of Lonnie’s fun-loving spirit, guests are welcome to wear tuxedo t-shirts, just as he often did during his high school years.

If you’re interested in speaking at his service please send me a private message. It may take me a day or two to get to it, but I will get there. I want to honor people’s requests but I can’t guarantee that every person who wants to speak will be able to. In the event we reach a maximum number of speakers I will find a way to honor everyone’s messages and quotes about Lonnie.

13/08/2025

Last night at 11:20 pm Lonnie passed.

He fought like hell and beat so many odds. If anyone deserves peace and to be free of suffering it’s Lonnie. Lonnie is in a better place and I truly believe he was an Angel here among us.

I dont have the words to explain how amazing of a man he was.

I will post updates about his memorial service soon.

* Edit to add service details.

A celebration of Lonnie’s life will be held on Sunday, August 24, 2025, at 2:00 PM at North Baptist Church in North, South Carolina (405 Stafford Ave, North, SC 29112).

12/08/2025

It’s been a rough few days. We have had to rework Lonnie’s medications. We believe it’s the cancer applying pressure to his bladder- but he keeps yelling that he has to p*e and trying to get out of bed. At one point last night he ended up on his knees on the floor and was yelling at us to stop when we tried to get him back in bed. He was pushing me and kicking at me to get me away from him.

I made the decision to have them place a catheter and after the floor incident the catheter had to be repositioned.

Tammy woke up with him a few times as well last night and he had coughed up/vomited a black and muddy fluid.

This new regimen has been good so far. He’s been sleeping and hasn’t had any of the wake windows where he’s agitated or combative. I’m praying he will find peace and comfort now. I know he’s going to a better place away from all of this pain and that’s what I’m holding on to through all of this.

11/08/2025

Warning: This post is graphic and may be hard to read/digest. However, I want to share incase our story can help others.

The last 24 hours have been intense. Lonnie is sedated for most of the day. He sleeps and isn’t having normal conversations. When he wakes up he’s very agitated and emotional.

Lonnie is unable to swallow any water without becoming violently Ill. So, I have agreed to allow the providers to stop all nutrition and fluids.They believe the fluids and IV nutrition were making certain symptoms worse- like the fluid in his lungs.

When Lonnie wakes up he’s begging for water and gets extremely emotional. He yells, cries, hits the bed, and has tried drinking unclean water from sources like his vomit bag. He is not in his right mind anymore.

Lonnie had also began plunging his fingers down his throat in an attempt to feel something wet his throat as he vomits. There have been a few episodes where I’m having to pin Lonnie’s arms while his mom and I try to soothe him. He would yell, cry, and try to shake loose as we did this.

When Lonnie gets into these high emotional states we are having to call the nurses to come and sedate him. It’s hard to watch. Telling Lonnie no when he begs for water feels cruel. This is truly hell and it’s not what Lonnie deserves.

09/08/2025

Unfortunately we have entered a situation where there is not a reality where Lonnie can be both awake and not vomiting. He is suffering when he’s awake. I had to make a hard decision and have the hospice increase his medications to a level where Lonnie will just sleep. His wake windows will be extremely limited- if they exist at all.

09/08/2025

Around 8:30 pm Lonnie was successfully transferred back to the hospice symptom care facility. He continues to violently vomit and struggles to have conversations. The goal is to find a medicine regimen that works. Once that is accomplished he will be given the choice to go home or go into the formal hospice facility as “end-of-life” protocol.

08/08/2025

Lonnie isn’t able to really hold conversations anymore. He mostly grunts or starts talking about random things. Earlier he said he wanted to get to level 40 of his game but there was no game. He hurts and continues to vomit around the clock. However, he wanted to walk tonight, so we did. I’ve never been so inspired by the determination of someone like this before. I’m so proud of the fight Lonnie has fought.

He went without his oxygen as well.

07/08/2025

Lonnie has been resting a lot. He’s still in pain but I believe we are moving in the right direction for pain control.

Lonnie’s blood sugar is staying pretty high so he now takes insulin. We are assuming the cancer is in his pancreas.