Cheryl and Leona are here and through day 1 of fixing Cheryl's valve. Their trip to Rochester was a little more exciting than desired as customs took longer than expected and they ended up staying in the night in Charlotte. But due to the generous assistance of a gentleman at the US Airways ticket counter and Cindy's neice Kelly, our two visitors were able to get a good night's rest before flying again on Sunday.

We had a big welcome party meet them at the airport including: Barbara, Kara, Bob, Maureen, Ralph, Cindy, and Leah. After getting them settled into their apartment behind Rochester General Hospital, Cindy and Leah gave brought them over to the hospital to start the paperwork with Dr. Gacioch. They are working on getting acclimated to the biting cold we're currently experiencing. Even with the sun out yesterday, it was maybe 10 degrees. It's a good thing we've received the donations of many layers!

Monday began early with a pick up at 6:45am to begin the registration at the hospital. After some more paperwork and waiting, Cheryl became an official patient with her gown, IV and all. And then today's procedure in the cath lab by Dr. Gacioch was pretty painless according to Cheryl. She just wasn't thrilled with the idea of having to lay flat for 4 hours afterwards to let the incision heal. And finally at 2pm they let her have something to eat! Cheryl's been doing great, she even received a surprise visit from the RGH's President, Mark Clement to wish her well tomorrow. Fortuantely there was nothing else left on the agenda for today and she could finally just rest. And she better get it because tomorrow starts early again!