Dear Caroline,
Please don't misunderstand us when we ask for people to think about surgery carefully before choosing that path. It is because we care and we want others to have the benefit of our "retro scopes" so that they have the opportunity to make a more informed decision than we had the benefit of.
I will say the same to you as I have just said to Sue, you will be in my prayers, please let us know when you are scheduled for surgery and ask someone to come on to the board and give us progress reports until you can be here yourself.
I hope you continue to visit the board and share your point of view, because when there are more opinions posted, then we have more information to consider and it can only make us feel more confident with our decision 
Love and gentle hugs