I wanted to come back to this thread and post another very heartfelt thank you to everyone here who offered advice, information, and support, or who left me private messages. Everything has turned out to be amazingly helpful, and I had been feeling kind of helpless and lost, so everything everyone said even added a much needed boost of confidence for me. We were able to arm ourselves with all of the documentation we needed, and I was even able to qualify at work for FMLA so that I can take time off to help her on days that she needs it.
Her surgery takes place at Johns Hopkins next Thursday, and one thing they were able to speculate pretty positively on is that what we are dealing with is not benign, so that takes a huge load off. I love Hopkins and did one of my college internships there, and in addition, my dad had heart surgery there a couple of years ago, so I feel completely confident that they know what they're doing and that she will come out of it just fine. They even made a note to give her a private room so that I could stay in it with her, so I feel really good about that and have a very positive feeling overall. Thanks again for everything, everyone! The fact that so many in this community who step up and offer advice or words of encouragement to someone they have never even met is a true testament to the caliber of individuals here.
