Hi Amy, I thank you for your encouragement as I sure do need it. Sometimes I believe I am a survivor and sometimes I think I'm just numb. But for all the bad that has happened, and Lord knows there's been way too much bad for too many, there has been an enormous amount of good. Pre-K (Katrina) my husband's mother and his aunt had not spoken in years. But after his aunt took us in, they reconciled and made peace in his family. It made it a little easier when his mother died last month of respiratory failure. As for me being strong, well, whether or not I feel that way, I try to behave in such a manner to help set some sort of an example for my two grown children. Life is hard and we all get knocked down sometimes. My husband and my daughter will both be with me until after the surgery and my daughter will stay with me while I recover. But during this week, I'm going to eat and eat and eat....... Helen