The time...

Dear Nicky,

Well, the time has come where we've actually met with the surgeon and set a date for your heart repair. Mom and I knew this time would come sooner or later, we knew the surgeon and the hospital are world class, and we're still pretty scared. I was hoping, I guess, that they would tell us that you wouldn't need any surgery, that your heart defect had healed itself. Of course that's not the case. Your heart needs to be fixed. I think fixing it will cure a multitude of problems, so we all have that to look forward to. Nothing is likely to go wrong, and yet I feel out of my mind with worry. The physical procedures are...mind-numbing, but everything seems to indicate that the surgeon is a genius. He's got no bedside manner, though, and he seemed quite brusque when we met him, but I don't suppose you can be a sweet, sensitive guy and be capable of temporarily stopping a baby's heart in order to fix it.

Love,
Dad