Erika, thoughts and prayers to you and your family as they go through this.As a nurse it was always just a routine for me to prepare a patient and family for open heart surgery, do the teaching, etc. Then it became personal when it was my Dad going. Now if my husband has to have it at some point in his cardiac history I know I will be a basket case.

I know we Americans complain so much about our health care but I guess we do have it better. I don't think an open heart surgery would be put on a back burner here.