Update March 9th, 2026: 

My mom Jennifer Henning has passed away this morning and I’m so heartbroken. Her cancer was so aggressive and got bad so quickly. I decided with her to move her into hospice on Sunday 3/8 to take her away from suffering and possibly dying in a hospital. I told her I wanted her to be somewhere peaceful and to be able to let her be with us and her dog Hurley. Once she got approved it all happened within a couple hours and she arrived to hospice around 5pm. I truly believe I got her out of there just in time. She was there for 14 hours and her lungs were filling with fluid causing her to not be able to breathe, her body was shutting down rapidly and Jesus was calling her to come home. Her mom, her dog Hurley and I were holding her when she took her last breath at 6:30am. 

I am beyond devastated to have just lost my sweet mom She touched so many lives with her contagious smile, laugh and her huge heart that just felt so warm and comforting to be around. My mom was so incredibly loved by so many and if you know her it was easy to know why.  

My mom got admitted into the hospital on February 28th and passed away March 9th, it all happened very fast and nothing I could have prepared for. She is no longer in pain and suffering and I know this because she told me she saw angel’s and rainbows that night in her room  I miss her so so much  

Thank you to everyone who donated for her hospital funds and continues to do so as I will have to start using the funds now to prepare for her memorial as well. I will be contacting her friends and family for the date of her memorial in the next couple days and hope everyone can make it to celebrate her beautiful soul. ❤️ 

Original post: March 6, 2026

My mom, Jennifer Henning has been diagnosed with gastric stomach cancer that is very aggressive and has spread to her lungs, liver, and esophagus. She has 7+ tumors all over those areas and lymph nodes, as well as blood clots in her lungs that make it very difficult for her to breathe. She’s currently in the hospital as they are trying their hardest to manage her pain every hour. She has been making slow progress each day with her physical therapy but now seems to be declining again. We are currently waiting for more CT scan results and biopsy results at Kootenai Hospital to make sure more fluid is not building up in her stomach again and checking the blood clots to ensure they don’t go to her lungs, brain, or heart.

My mom was going to the restroom on Friday, 2/28, and couldn’t push herself off the toilet; her body was so weak. She unfortunately ended up falling on her face and attempted to crawl about 6 feet to get her phone to call family and 911. That took her over 2 hours before she was able to reach out to anyone. The doctors say she’s very lucky she didn’t die that night because of the blood clots in her lungs that could have caused her to stop breathing or cause a stroke. They removed the major blood clots from her lungs successfully and removed 7L of fluid from her stomach. A pulmonary embolism filter was put in her legs to prevent any more blood clots from traveling from her legs to her lungs, heart, or brain. As of now, it seems more blood clots are forming and possibly building up more fluid in her stomach again, but we are waiting for results from her CT scan.

My mom, Jen, worked at Macy's in CDA, ID for over 15 years, but that closed down last year, which caused her to be unemployed and no longer have health insurance.

My mom is one amazing woman who has worked very hard in her life to be a light of joy for many people, including myself. She is always so happy and lived a carefree life where she just enjoyed being in the sun, walking her dog Hurley, and living her life to the fullest. Nothing seemed to break her spirit even though she was given many challenges in her life to overcome. The amount of friends and family that have come to see her and reach out to make sure she’s okay is incredible, and you can see how loved she really is. When we asked her, “After all this, what do you want to do with your life?” She replied, “I just want to live.” My mom is so strong and continues to not give up on herself each day; her mindset to push herself to get better is amazing to watch. But, she is on a lot of pain medication, and all forms of morphine seem to still allow her to feel pain. She can’t keep any food down, and we are just trying to keep her progressing with small wins throughout the day.

Because of her very large hospital bill that has exceeded over $100,000, I am asking for help. If she can continue to progress even a little bit, there is a chance she can be approved for a charity program to get her to go to St. Jude therapy in Spokane after her release from the hospital. We are currently waiting for the approval, but they only cover 1-2 weeks of care. Therapy can be anywhere from $10,000 a month, so we are at our wits' end and need help from friends and family to cover expenses.

My mom means so much to me as it has always been her and me. We are always laughing and enjoying life whenever we are together, and I am so afraid to lose her. Please share, and if you can donate anything, it would mean so much to us. Thank you