Oh, God, let me tell you, never read a thread about Catspaw and try to take a drink of water at the same time. I started laughing (again) towards the middle of the thread and nearly choked on my water.

Spaw, you have some really weird and warped friends, in addition to your many other excellent qualities.

Just can't tell you what a joy it is, that you have come through this so well.

Hope you're over most of the discomfort really soon. BTW you're right about the lack of aesthetic sensibility on the part of cardiac surgeons! Mine just pulled the skin together and stapled, any which way, and I had a three or four inch stripe of very tender puffy scarring, about a quarter inch across, where they caught too much skin in the staples. (The whole scar is about 6 or 7 inches long, but they didn't botch all of it.) It looked like a mole had tunneled under the skin, and hurt like the devil. It's still a lump, but at least it eventually stopped hurting. Takes time, though. Even the safest, most non-invasive heart surgery is going to guarantee you a few "interesting" experiences!

You said all along that you felt pretty optimistic about this. Looks like you were right. This is one time we're all glad to hear someone say, "I told you so...."

All the best, Rita