Hi Teri, thank you so much for your reply. I'm 51 and my last open heart surgery was 3 years ago. I've had hurdles...infection postop has caused me major problems and got me last ditch to Rochester. SO MUCH went amazingly brilliantly at Mayo that I am optimistic my newfound luck will continue! I guess we all have hopes, sometimes dreams that may or may not come true...important for me to remember that nothing is really very controllable, though we do have some say in all of it. I guess I just get down sometimes when my "dream" trajectory doesn't match up with real life. I'm on tube feeds for severe malnutrition so I have smart folks on that side of things, and I really appreciate your upbeat spirit and "eggshell" analogy...thats so wise! My best to you, and to all! Cheers, ef.