Pre-Op Visit Yesterday

Cathy had her final, pre-op visit yesterday at Emory.

We got all of our instructions for the surgery. She has to wash with special soap and use special mouthwash, and nose drops and stuff for the next few days until the surgery.
We are scheduled to arrive at the hospital at 6:00 AM Monday, and she is the first one up on the table

We learned about all of the options (pig valves versus mechanical valves, she chose mechanical), and how long the procedure shoudl take.
The doctors are not sure if they will need to repair or replace the mitral valve also. It doesn't seem to be working too well, bu they are not sure if its performance isn't just being hampered by all of the leakage from the aortic valve.
It could take as long as six hours...and they expect her to be in ICU for 2 days after that.
Then they said she might be checking out one week later, so it certainly looks like she'll be home for Thanksgiving, and possibly several days before.