Good news!  My Mother was told that her surgery could be moved up by nearly a whole month!  Now, am I to believe that someone just cancelled their surgery, and then the scheduler decided that My Mother, and not anyone else scheduled to have surgery, was the one to ask whether she wants her surgery done sooner?  Because, while I am glad that it now appears my parents can get out of here before the New Year, it feels as though the scheduler actually does have dates before Thanksgiving Week open; she just doesn't want to give one of those dates to My Mother unless or until she gets checked out, or is "doing the right thing," or "is on track to have a successful surgery," or something.

If that is the case, then after My Mother does her pre-op visit today/Thursday, would it then be possible she can be rescheduled even sooner -- like, oh, Monday?  Because then that would mean they would be outta here to salvage a good portion of the holiday season.  I'd have the house to myself for Christmas, my folks would be in warmer Las Vegas ... that would be a win-win!