My husband gets all the credit for the title of this blog post.  After we got our big news from Stanford today, once Kiran woke up from his nap, Arif came in and told our son that we have his scar installation scheduled.  I love it!  It sounds much more exciting (and less terrifying) than open heart surgery.

So – yes – we have our true surgery date!  Stanford moved his surgery up, at the request of our local cardiologist, to Wednesday, September 7th.  The three of us will be traveling to California at the end of August, to be there for a Sept. 1st pre-op appointment and a Sept. 2nd cardiac cath.

My initial reaction was one of relief and joy.  I was hoping for a September date!  This is really wonderful news, because it is time.  He needs this surgery.  There is no way he would have remained stable until December.  It is a much more logical date to work with.  And now, we can start planning for our trip.  This is the part that helps me, because it is the piece of all of this I can control.  I can make lists and plan and organize to my heart’s content.

And then (mind you, all of this was during the three minute phone conversation with the patient coordinator at Stanford), I had to fight to keep the tears at bay.  It all hit me, and my stomach dropped.  It has never not been real, but man, now it’s REAL.  We have a date for open heart surgery.  It is a lot to take in.

Wednesday, September 7th.  84 days.  Our journey continues.