Well you are in a great place here on Connect. It's a supportive community and you will find you are not alone, which is a comfort when you are in shock!
I am glad to hear you have a great care team going forward. John Hopkins is well known and certainly up on HOCM.
I was also told to be careful before I had surgery. SCD, sudden cardiac death was what I was told could happen. Imagine hearing that! Oh my gosh...and all this time I didn't know? I was told no yoga, no weight lifting, no motorcycles and no strenuous hiking. Dang! All the things I loved.
It weighed heavy on my mind and I was in shock too. I was not looking forward to having open heart surgery, but I was willing to risk that versus not having a life anymore. I am so grateful I had surgery and the best care in the world at Mayo Clinic. It's been four years now, and I do still have symptoms, but nothing like before.
I hope you come back and let us know how your appointment goes next week. Is it far from where you live?