I guess this thread really hits home after my valve replacement. The fact is they wheeled me into the OR, got me situated, and then went to work - anesthetic, stopped my heart, shunted blood through a heart/lung machine, popped the hood (so to speak) and got down to work, putting in my new valve fabricated from cow and pig tissues, sewing me back up and restarting my heart. I woke about eight hours later, feeling OK(this had something to do with the morphine I was given). Three days later I walked out of the hospital - that was a really good moment! Useful life has resumed.

I have executed an Advanced Care Directive, or whatever you call it, because there will be a time to pull the plug and walk away. Maybe I will be in a hospital, although a hospice would be preferable. Who knows when? Until that time comes, I will enjoy the benefits of modern medicine.

It is clear, BTW, that my good health requires my active participation, working with the medical establishment to keep the wheels turning.

I encountered the member of the team who stitched me up at the end of the operation (definitely a "closer") and chastised him for such a neat job. I was planning to run away and join the circus, making a fortune by showing my hideous scar for 50 cents a pop. His neat work ruined those plans, so I am back to digging for science....