Wish me luck!

[Rick Y]

Our prayers will be for a smooth surgery with rapid recovery.

[RSHAW]

May God be with you in your surgery.

[Jock Scot]

Good luck laddie, the alternative option does not appeal, so soonest done, soonest mended.

[bodhran4me]

Wishing all the best for success and a speedy recovery.

[Tarheel]

Tell "She that must be obeyed" that (as the major caregiver in my own home) to hang in there with you. If both your spirits are upbeat, the healing will go faster, smoother and healthier.
My wife's throat cancer surgery was 95% successful and she is half way through her radiation. With every procedure she has, I get a new girlfriend to bring home. Example; her voice, from another room, no longer resonates her youthful tone, the new words are exotic and sultry in tone (imagine Shirley Temple one week and Lauren Bacall the next). The powerful forces of the Psyche can hinder you or heal you. Tempt her with new expectations of your post surgery life. Tally Ho! my friend.

[SPS tools]

Good luck, Liam. The waiting is the worse. It has taken me (6,2,3) months to convince the doctors that I really had something wrong with my heart (triple bypass `11, stent `14, stent `15). I know the feeling of not being able to climb a simple flight of stairs quite well.

...Basically, you just go in and do what they tell you to do. Be prepared for them to constantly be interrupting you as you try to rest (which gets annoying) and don't be surprised if almost all food tastes really bad for a while. It took a couple months before my favorite foods finally started to taste "normal" again. They'll probably send you to cardiac rehab after a few weeks and the folks there will get you moving again and on the way back to normal. It's worth doing, especially considering the alternative. ...

What Todd said! I had to force myself to eat because everything tasted like cardboard. The nurse told me it's a common "pump head" side effect from having been on a heart/lung machine. Some parts of the brain shut down because they're getting a constant pressure instead of the normal pulse of a heart beat. Takes them weeks to recover. I was back riding my bicycle 4 months after the bypass. I worked up to it with walking every day, but only 100 yards at a time near end of the first week. Six months later I was riding 60-80 miles/day. Just take your time.

[Panache]

Liam,

Knocking on wood for you. Having gone through the heart surgery thing (twice) be sure you and your doctors are on the same page for pain management and understand that as you recover you are going to tire easily. Whatever your favorite physical activity is, keep getting back to it as a goal. My desire to get back to Scottish Country Dancing last time was a big motivator for me. Though it was very rough when I finally did get back on the floor, I know that it made my recovery faster and more complete.

Good Luck!

ith:

Jamie

[Kiltedjohn]

Very best wishes. Hope it goes well, and proves very successful.

[Richrail]

Prayers for a smooth surgery and quick recovery.

[Liam]

Thanks to all for the well wishes and advice. I particularly appreciate the advice from those who have "been there".
Slainte... Bill aka Liam