The battle continues!

From George at 9:25 pm, Sunday night,
Janet’s fight continues. Her spirit is strong but she is a little weak. The doctors are monitoring her carefully at Holy Cross and everyone is hoping to get her ship shape to go to Hopkins on Thursday. We had hoped that she would be discharged this weekend, but alas, it was not to be. The right lung is still draining. It is at a much lower rate than last week. It may yet be too much to allow the drain to be disconnected and the doctors may wish to take some different action on Monday. Decisions will have to be made. I will go in the morning to help.

In the meantime, Janet was feeling well enough to let me take a couple of pictures. I have written about her wonderful view, so here it is. Also, you’ll see her bulletin board which has the name of her nurse listed for a particular shift. Notice all the pictures especially with the dancers. The picture of her on the top right shows her in orange at the Pennsylvania dance camp the 3rd week of May. Thanks to Artemus for sending us the print copies earlier in the week. It buoyed Janet’s spirits! I like her better in turquoise as shown on the bottom left. There is also a group photo of her and her students from the dental fractography course that she taught with Susanne Scherrer at the end of May. This was the very last thing Janet did before being stricken. Imagine that: one week dancer, next week technical instructor. She’s a pretty good wife and mother too! Janet points out that this is the most popular patient bulletin board on the floor and the nurses love to look at the pictures. They also give the nurses a sense of who Janet is.

The third picture shows Janet in bed with her lovely smile. This smile reflects her true character, how she feels. Yet please do not be lulled into a false sense of security. She is in pain and is weak. Her life hangs in the balance. We must stabilize her.

So tomorrow, June 23rd is Janet’s 29th (or 58th) birthday. (I agree Stream! She looks half her age.) Her close family will congregate, but the meeting will have to be short. There is a possibility they will do a procedure on her tomorrow or Tuesday. If so, there is the chance that her Hopkins appointment may get pushed back yet again. We hope and pray not. Janet’s 82 year old mother is on her way from Hartford. She should arrive here in Gaithersburg any moment now. Janet’s brother from Hartford is coming tomorrow. Janet, Aleta, George Walter and I will have our photo taken and post it tomorrow night.

What does one get for Janet who is confined to a hospital room? Well many of you have asked me for suggestions and I confess I too was uncertain. But then I saw it in a shop today in Lakeforest Mall. Just the right things: One small (to hang) and one large (to prop up) glass crystals to refract the light and send rainbow hues across her bed and shine on her lovely face.
Let us hope and pray for some good news!
george