We made it!! We arrived in Minneapolis last night around 6 p.m. My cute friend Andrea picked us up from the airport, took us to her home in Rochester, and then fed us a home cooked meal! What a pal! Brighton relationships have such a blessing in my life! Then she took us to our hotel and we got settled for the night. Thanks Tibet a.k.a Andrea and her husband Eric for all they have done for us and all they continue to offer to do for us! :)

Today has been a LONG day....but an extremely peaceful and educational day. Our day started with an appointment at 6:50 a.m. and did not end until 6 p.m. First was blood tests, then echocardiogram, followed by a cardiac MRI, then chest x-rays, EKG, etc. The afternoon was spent meeting with different doctors - Dr. Cetta, Dr. Dearani, and Dr. Cannon. We also slipped a portable EKG test in there too. Lots to say about today but I will sum up a few main thoughts.

First, the Mayo Clinic is incredible!! We have never met more friendly, sincere people. Everyone is available to help you and treats you with such kindness. It is amazing!

Second, we have felt so educated today. In Salt Lake most doctors/medical staff/people don't know anything about this heart defect, but that is not the case here. It was SO nice to come to a place where people know and understand this condition. So many things were clarified today and that brought a lot of peace into our lives. I think we have gotten used to not knowing much about this defect and also having most medical people around us be unfamiliar with this.

And finally, I am amazed at the peace we are feeling. I fully expected that after meeting with all these doctors I would be super nervous for surgery tomorrow but that is not the case. I left the Clinic today feeling complete peace. Every doctor we talked to left us feeling secure and positive. The cardiologist, Dr. Cetta, told us he was very encouraged by what he saw in our heart films. People with this heart defect usually have very bad right ventricle function, which leads to extreme, irreparable issues. He said my right ventricle function was not normal but extremely good for a person with Ebsteins. How exciting! Dr. Dearani, our surgeon, is a very honest, direct man. He came in and told us his exact thoughts. He said he is not exactly sure what he will do in surgery tomorrow. He believes there is a 50% chance of fixing the valve doing a slight cone procedure and the other 50% chance is that he will just have to replace our valve. But after talking with him we feel very at east with whatever choice he feels he needs to make. We talked about surgical risks and he felt very confident. He has worked with so many patients with this heart defect and he feels our surgery will be completely successful. Dr. Cannon is a cardiologist that specializes in heart rhythms. He wants us to have a pacemaker put in during our stay here as well. We felt complete peace as we talked about that choice and know it is the right thing to do.

SO, tomorrow is the day! We check into the hospital at 7 a.m. Surgery is supposed to be about 6 hours. We are feeling good and very much at peace. We acknowledge that peace to the power of prayer, the power of faith, and the blessings that result from fasting. Thank you to all that have helped us in this! We love you all!!!