I generally have the most faith in doctors and don't second guess their abilities. When I had surgery on my neck/back, any negative consequences never really entered my mind. Sure, I knew it was possible I would have further issues with the disc down the road, but I knew I was walking away from the hospital the very same day, and never thought otherwise.

It's now confirmed that my Mom will be going in for open heart surgery tomorrow. She has multiple blockages and will be having her aortic valve replaced. I was worried enough about this procedure but for some reason reading Wikipedia's entry made me much more nervous - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aortic_valve_replacement

I guess I assumed if I blocked out all of the bad stuff it would ultimately disappear, but it's not. This surgery alone scares the shit out of me when I read it, but it's worse knowing she is a very high risk patient with severe emphysema and failing health.

When I speak with her I know I need to remain strong, but she is obviously the most scared out of anyone, and you can hear the trembling and fear in her voice. When I listen to her I get nervous and don't know what to say. I just keep telling her that this is what these surgeons do on a daily basis and she couldn't be in better hands, but I don't think that does anything to lower either of our fears. She's a very scared/emotional person to begin with.