Meeting With Mr. Surgeon Man

Dr. John Mitchell seems to be a really great guy.  I asked the nurses in cardiology what they thought of him and they had wonderful things to say.  Mark has a friend who had an aortic valve replacement done by him, he had great things to say.  We looked him up online and he was in the army and has lots of schooling and degrees(I imagine you'd have to if you were going to be a heart surgeon).
Today we met him in person.  He has done so many valve repairs and replacements, I imagine it's almost second nature.  Only 1.5% of the people he's had to replace valves on have died.  These were due to other complications, not having to do with the heart valve itself and they were all much much older than Mark.  Here was my facebook status update:
Update on Mark:  We met with the surgeon.  He is a really nice guy.  He explained everything really well and answered all of our questions.  He explained that most surgeons would not give us the option of having the valve repaired, but he says that in his opinion, he thinks that he can repair the valve.  He said that it would be a huge repair and that it wouldn't be easy, but he was willing to try if we were open to him giving it a try.  If he did the repair, Mark would probably have to have a replacement in the next 10 years or so.  The upside would be that he would not have to be on an anti-coagulant for the rest of his life(not until the replacement in 10 years or so).   He will probably have to have a replacement in 10 years, but he would only be in his 40s which would be better than having to get it replaced in his 60s or 70s.  Anywho, he can do the surgery in the next few days if WE want or we can wait until the 18th or soon after.  Mark is all about have it now, but I would like to prepare a bit.  I just want to get caught up on my life since I have the option before all goes crazy again.  Most likely the surgery will be the third week of March.
--Basically, there is a lot of healthy tissue and valve, too much even(which is part of the problem) he really thinks he can repair it.  Here's to the next step!!  We will pick a date in the next day or two and let you all know!!  Thanks again for all of your prayers, love, fasting, thoughts and food on our behalf.  We love you all and wouldn't be able to do all this without you and our Heavenly Father.