Latest on my grandmother

It's just easier to cut and paste the email my mom sent to family/friends today than try to type it all out...

A couple of nights ago Sam told his brother (Jim) that they needed to start pulling some of the tubes on Anna Lee (their Mom) to see how she would do. It was a VERY hard thing for him to say and knew it would be harder to do. She is still unconscious, is getting more blood clots and they can’t get her regulated as far as medicine to control it. The meds make the clots go away but also lets her blood pressure drop out the bottom, so that becomes a vicious circle. She cannot swallow and probably never will be able to again due to the “mini” strokes she has had, so they are feeding her a small amount of food through a tube, she is also on an IV. Her lungs are being pumped constantly because they are filling with fluid. They give her lasix and her kidneys work well then (but whose wouldn’t). The Dr came in after Sam talked to Jim and said she had a 10% chance of pulling through and he thought they should go for it. Jim called and told Sam what the Dr said and so they agreed to give it a few more days. She is no better. Last night Jim called and now where she has blood clots it is oozing through her skin. Jim said he couldn’t handle it anymore and has agreed to go forward with informing the Drs of their decision to have some of the tubes and hoses removed slowly to see how she does. She is 88 years old and it has not been an easy decision for them but it is even harder to think of her lingering in the deteriorating state of health she is in now. They have the standing do not resuscitate order if she should quit breathing. However, some of the things they are doing seem to be worse than letting her pass away. Please remember all of us, but especially Jim and Sam. She is their Mother and the decisions are extremely hard to make but then when made it is sometimes harder to actually SAY them. She was moved to ICU and not expected to live on the 8th. She went unconscious the end of that week and has not come out of it. The lung Dr said when they moved her to ICU to give him a week to pull her through, now another Dr has given her a 10% chance to live, the boys have decided enough is enough. Support them and pray for them