We have received three update calls from surgery. About 8:00 am they had made the incision and cut through the sternum....this was the most difficult call since we knew Jerry was dreading this part so much. The second call came around 8:45...they had disconnected his heart and connected Jerry to the heart/lung machine (life support). They fitted him for the mechanical valve and tested it for an hour. They also did a internal echo cardiagram before the fitting and afterwards. Our third call came 10 minutes ago... The valve is in, Jerry is breathing on his own and they have disconnected life support. They told us that the doctor is very pleased and the surgery was a success! They are closing the sternum now. The doctor should be out to talk to us in about an hour. Also they did not have to take his heart out to replace the valve and there was no additional heart componant replacements necessary as they originally thought. We are so thankful for the good report...we will update soon.