After suffering from lingering pain in her stomach, Jan consulted with doctors who determined she had gall stones. Their proposed removal was a low risk outpatient procedure that could be performed in Reno. Jan entered the hospital on Tuesday, April 17.
The surgery took much longer than expected, as the duct blocking the stones was unexpectedly small. During her recovery that afternoon, she had a low fever. The doctor had her admitted so she could take more time to recover.
Wednesday passed with some improvement, but she was still not ready to leave. By Thursday she was feeling better. The fever had passed and she had started taking solid foods. She was talkative and in good spirits. The doctor said she would be able to be discharged the next day.
The night shift nurses checked on her at midnight and found her sleeping comfortably. When they checked on her an hour later, they found that she was not breathing. They could not find a pulse. They used the crash cart, but could not bring her back.
The doctor called her family before two, and her son came and stayed with her until she left the hospital. The doctor said that her death was completely unexpected. He suspected that she may have had a sudden heart attack in the night, but asked for an autopsy for confirmation. An autopsy was performed but the results will not be known for more than a month.
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