O'Dark Thirty in the Morning..
Well, today is the day. I'm excited, nervous, anxious, but surprised that I'm not at all frightened. My wife, my good friend Joe and I arrive bright and early at the hospital and check in. Everybody there is very pleasant, but it's just another day at the office for them. I am well aware that in a very short time I'm going to have my heart stopped and I'm a bit awed by the thought.

In a while we go down to the pre-operative area where I don my lovely backless hospital gown and get on the gurney/bed thing. I do like the heated blankets, nice touch. Pretty soon the nice resident from anesthesiology comes in to start an IV line so that I can get the nice drugs to put me out. He sticks me no less than 4 times, trying to find the vein he needs. After a while I suggest that he just keep sticking me until I bleed out and then he won't have to use drugs at all. He apologizes and I feel a little bad for teasing him, but I'm the one thats bleeding.

Laurie and Joe come back in and we visit for a while and pretty soon it's time for me to go into the operating room where they can finish getting me ready for the rest of the long day ahead. I kiss Laurie, hug Joe and tell them to take care of each other. They start something in my IV as they wheel.......me........away........and I start to.......drift......off... .. ... ......