the latest

Hey all, this is Jenny's sister, Leigh, posting today. Some of you have heard the latest, but for those who have not, let me give a quick update.

The CT Jenny had right after her last post did show that the tumor had bled again, but was not actively bleeding at that point. Still, she continued feeling so poorly that they ended up doing another CT last Wednesday (5/7). While at the clinic for that scan, she was feeling so much pain and nausea--and bloodwork showed her hematocrit had dropped from 30 to 25 in less than 24 hours--that they decided to admit her to the hospital immediately, where she stayed until Monday morning.

So, where are we now?

The scan showed that the tumor has, in fact, been hemorrhaging again, and they believe it is now larger than when she was originally diagnosed (approximately 21 cm now). Clearly the drugs are not working, and they cannot let this cycle of bleeding continue on like it has. And so they have scheduled her for surgery this Thursday.

We are feeling positive about this course of action. It must come out. She is otherwise perfectly healthy and should be able to sustain the surgery well. And her surgeon is one of the best--whenever someone at the hospital would find out who her surgeon is, the automatic response was always a quick nod of the head and, "That's who I would want if I were in your place."

That said, of course we are praying like crazy! We are praying for the surgeons, that they will be able to remove the tumor in one piece, and that it will not be connected to or require the removal of any other organs. We are praying for peace and comfort and strength. We hope that you will pray with us, too.

I know she is so appreciative--our whole family is--of all of the prayers and positive thoughts and well wishes that have been pouring in since the beginning. I keep telling her she has the most amazing friends, and she really does. 

We will do our best to post an update on Thursday as soon as we are able.