Johanna and Mom are presently in the ICU waiting room as Dr. Horikawa, a top surgeon at Highland Hospital, prepares to perform a tracheotomy on Pop in his room in the ICU. Pop's condition has been less stable the past two days, but Dr. Horikawa consulted with Mom a little while ago and said he felt that the procedure could be performed safely. Members of the ICU staff have repeated ad nauseam how skilled Dr. Horikawa is and that the surgery will be fairly quick. Johanna has worked with him before and confirmed that to be the case.

We are now rounding a sharp turn on the roller coaster...