Wednesday Nov. 23

Emily visited Linda along with her friend Megan Steber - Tim Steber drove them down. A pretty bad day for Linda. The only bright spot was that she woke for 10 minutes, and interacted with Emily, smiling and obviously understanding what was said. This was very good for Emily emotionally, but does not change Linda's medical situation. They arrived home mid afternoon.

Robert arrived home late tonight from NYC. We will all go to U Penn tomorrow.

At 1:15 am I got a call from Linda's floor. Dr. Bish said that Linda's breathing was at a high level, and he wanted to move her to the ICU, where they could insert a breathing tube. In the ICU she would also have access to other life extending measures. I told him that there should be no breathing tube, no resuscitation, and no machines that would take over vital functions. Linda had always been clear that she did not want to be artificially kept alive, and with her chances of recovery so minimal, it seemed the only answer I could give. I felt that she was there with me saying "enough"! Dr. Bish understood the situation, and said they would keep her where she was, and make her as comfortable as they could. The rest of the family, on hearing the story in the morning, agreed with the approach. Unfortunately, I couldn't sleep after that.

- Lee