Update on Sarah's Health

Hello dear friends of Sarah Nirguna,

Sarah had two days of palliative chemo (relief of pain and symptoms) and handled it very well with few side effects. There will be a 2 week grace period before the next treatment cycle begins again. Unfortunately, she has extreme water accumulation in her legs and abdomen as a result of the cancer itself and a weak liver. The water build-up in her abdomen constricts her lung/breathing function. Consequently, Sarah is currently bedridden and unable to walk without losing her breath.

We had a scare yesterday when she became breathless after a small meal. This was powerful teaching for all of us on the impermanence and fragility of this life.  She is fine now, temporarily adorning an oxygen mask. The doctor indicated he may need to use a needle to draw out the excess fluid next week.       Hopefully, this will be a simple operation.  Following this incident, Sarah was moved to a different hospital floor for closer, around the clock monitoring. The good news is that her newly prescribed pain medication seems to last longer.  She is more awake and communicative. Intermittent sweet smiles. We'll see.

When we read aloud to Sarah, all of your cards and messages of love, she sometimes puts her hand on her heart and smiles with joy! That's how meaningful it is to her. Her visitors consistently say that being in her room is like being in a temple.  So many have experienced deep peacefulness and equanimity. Even the nurses! I can't put into words how thankful we are for your concern. Lastly, your donations, no matter how much, have been a great blessing to Sarah and continue to ease her mind. They contribute only to the expense of her ongoing care and she knows this. With love and gratitude, Susan and Mark

P.S. We encourage you to leave any message you wish on her blog. We bring the blog to her hospital room to show her. There are more pictures to come! If you have a problem signing your name, as part of the registration-type process at the end, just pick "anonymous". You can put your name at the end of the message itself, just like I did above.