Doctors' Game Plan

Hey everyone....the team of doctors just left. The goal is to keep Jen as stable and comfortable as possible. They want to give us enough time to allow people to say goodbye. The goal is still to remove the breathing tube. This will probably happen late Wednesday or early Thursday. They will monitor her to see how she does. If things begin to go downhill as we expect, they will sedate her enough to not really feel any pain. If you wish to come visit, please do so by tomorrow. Thank you for all your prayers and thoughts...they are needed during this difficult time. I leave you with something in the conference room on the floor....it is written from a cancer patient's perspective, but it is easily enough seen from the point of view of all those they love who are left behind...

What Cancer Cannot Do:
Cancer is so limited...
It cannot cripple Love
It cannot shatter Hope
It cannot corrode Faith
It cannot destroy Peace
It cannot kill Friendship
It cannot suppress Memories
It cannot silence Courage
It cannot invade the Soul
It cannot steal eternal Life
It cannot conquer the Spirit
-Author Unknown

Jen's Status - August 8th

Jen had a not so good night. They tried to reduce the amount of oxygen she was getting through the ventilator, but could not. Her stomach and GI tract don't appear to be absorbing any medicine given orally. The hospital staff have been unable to break her fever, and she is literally packed all around with bags of ice to make her comfortable. Her heart rate and blood pressure continue to climb due to the infection, making me fear that her heart won't be able to withstand much more. And her white blood count has doubled over the last day, meaning today will be the last day she has a "normal" number of cells, even though we know they're pretty much all bad. I understand people are making travel arrangements, but to be honest, I'm not sure how much more her body can take. I will try to post another update after the doctors make their rounds.

Jeremy