thanks guys (and gals)! i truly appreciate all the thoughts and prayers-- it means a lot. just got off the phone with him and he sounds highly confident. i'll know by tomorrow afternoon how things went.
yes, family is the MOST important thing, to me at least, and obviously to many of us. the good news is that if all goes well, he'll be coming down here to spend christmas with me for about a week or so. did that last christmas, too, and we just had an outstanding time hanging out together. i lost my mom coming up on two years ago, and i was as close if not closer to her, so family and time spent with them being SO important is always at the forefront of my mind, and due to distance, etc., it's a precious commodity.
thanks again everybody, and hopefully tomorrow i'll be back to give a quick thumbs up on the procedure.