Great news from here! I had the operation on October 4, and every heartbeat since then has been perfect. The operation was 3 hours, and the surgeon said he thought it went very well. The incision in my groin area is pretty much healed, and I'm feeling great without medication I very much appreciate all the support I have received from everyone. It really helped maintain the positive attitude I needed to get through this little detour.
Now we need to schedule what we will do to get back to the sailing trip. We have two sidetrips planned in the meantime, to visit kids and grandkids. And I would like to ski a bit at Whistler before we go back to Tahiti, just to give the new heart repair a good test. The cyclone season in the South Pacific is from November through April, so we don't want to be at sea there during those dates. We will likely head back to Tahiti in January or February, and get the boat ready for continuing the trip at the end of April. It feels absolutely wonderful to be able to make plans again.