Beautiful hole in my heart

Hello. I am having open heart surgery this Thursday morning to repair a large ASD, a heart defect, a hole in my heart, which I was born with and have lived with for 45 years. I've read many medical articles and a few blogs, but didn't find any from women having open heart surgery so I'm writing one. Let me know if someone else has done this-we should share resources. It's Monday evening and I'm folding laundry, cooking dinner, also perusing my surgery prep info to see when the breathing tube may be removed after Thursday's surgery. It's a good time to finally use the word surreal correctly. I'll be posting updates and expectations until I go in and am incapacitated by my surgery and meds, at which point I will slowly return to posting semi-lucid updates and later, updates you can trust. I am doing this to help anyone else out there who is suddenly facing open heart surgery and wants to hear about a compadre's experience, I am not a medical person and that's not the purpose of this blog. I have 3 young kids which is the hardest factor in facing this. It's also my favorite time of year, but when given the choice of how to proceed I chose the earliest possible date: living with this fear and anxiety for weeks and weeks would not be productive. It is my greatest wish that I can share with any of you experiencing this what I am feeling and what I learn, and in turn perhaps learn from you. It made me feel better to read a few of the short blogs online, but my goal is to write one from a woman's point of view, any men or pets who also need heart surgery are welcome to join in, share experiences, commiserate, celebrate success, live and love.