More good news today! I am officially out of the ICU and in the step-down unit. My blood pressure tolerated a very small fluid removal goal yesterday so they felt safe moving me down. I have lost about half of my hospital accessories and more will come in the next couple of days. The doctors think I may be able to go home this weekend if everything keeps going well. The following are conditions for leaving 
1. Getting my blood thinner on the right dosage
2. Tolerating dialysis tomorrow
3. Making our apartment more accessible so PT is comfortable signing off. 

Yesterday I walked 80ft with PT and a walker before I needed a break. I couldn't have done that before surgery. It's still not where it needs to be but we are making progress. No one said this was going to be a quick or immediate recovery. The surgeon said they usually expect 6 months before people are back to "normal". The hardest part is not being able to push or pull with my arms. This includes using your arms to push yourself up from a chair or to pull yourself up with a walker. So even though my walking is pretty good considering, my ability to stand from a seated position is very difficult. Hence the apartment modifications. Thankfully there are only 4 steps going into our first floor apartment, however that's 4 more steps than I can do at the moment. The PT today said that steroid use weakens the group of muscles in your legs that are responsible for stair climbing and standing from a seated position. I've been on steroids for the past 6 months so my leg muscles are pretty beat. PT is going to coordinate with our landlord to install a temporary ramp to get me up the 4 steps (which should be covered by insurance), I ordered a raised toilet seat to avoid my previous bathroom fiascoes, and PT is also going to try to get insurance to cover a fancy recliner that will boost you up out of it to help you stand. I think I would be able to do all of these things just fine if I could use my arms to push or pull but that will be 2-4 weeks from now and I definitely don't want to be in the hospital or a rehab facility for that long. So there are definitely a lot of moving parts that have to be sorted out which may take longer than the weekend. 
I still am not having much pain. My chest is still tight at the incision site and my leg is sore at that incision site under certain movements. My biggest complaint now is all this tape on my neck from all the lines they put in and took out. It's like trying to move your neck encased in cling wrap. But if that's my biggest complaint two weeks out from open heart surgery, I will take it! God has been so good and faithful through everything and today I was able to sing worship songs for the first time in months (previously too short of breath) and could not be more thankful for how far he has brought me and how far he will continue to bring me. 

Specific prayer requests:
1. No more major setbacks or procedures (infection, hematoma, etc.)
2. That everything would fall into place so I could go home soon (hopefully this weekend)
3. That my body would cooperate with the blood thinners and dialysis and the other things needed to keep me alive. 
4. That I would keep making improvements and not have to go back to the ER again in a couple of weeks. 

I am now reachable via mail at 
Hannah Benjamin
Ellison 816A
Massachusetts General Hospital
55 Fruit St. Boston, MA 02114

However not sure how much longer I will be here so feel free to send stuff to my normal address as well or in lieu of. 

Again could not be happier with the care I've been receiving here and highly highly recommend Mass General to anyone who needs top notch care (especially anything weird that other places can't figure out). Also a huge thank you to all of you for your faithful thoughts and prayers!