Abundance of caution

As we approach Labor Day and our return to UCSF for Ripley's operation, I have been getting a strange mixture of more relieved and also incredibly anxious, both about the success of the surgery and also about Ripley not getting sick before Monday.  Being ill is a contraindication for surgery and I don't know what I would do if he got sick and needed to reschedule, particularly given that his surgeon gets very booked up.  

This weekend, we were invited to a few second birthday parties for Madison's friends, who she hasn't seen in over a month.  I was hopeful she could go, but when surgery was scheduled so soon, I realized it was not in our best interest to go, in the abundance of caution.  

Hayes's father is arriving from China tomorrow and I had originally imagined that he would get to spend some time with Ripley before surgery.  However, planes are notorious for having germs and this being a long international flight, there could be foreign germs too.  Ripley's cardiologist recommended that Hayes's father wear a face mask for the first few days when he arrives, but the his parents ended up deciding to quarantine themselves so Ripley wouldn't been exposed to any potential pathogens at all.  I feel awful that he won't get to meet Ripley for a while and will never have seen Ripley before he receives his surgery scar.  Again, in the abundance of caution, their family thought this made the most sense.  

We will likely just stay home this weekend, spending time together as a family and avoiding any large crowds or sick people as best we can.  All I want is for our Ripley to be safe and healthy for next week.