Hi Ed,
My two cents in here.... I think the idea of "around the clock care" and nurses may be just a tad unnecessary, though I realize some folks may indeed require it. I really think it depends on how things go in the hospital, like did everything go smoothly or were there some complications that occurred. Some folks here couldn't do steps for a couple weeks, while others of us had no troubles there. I see that you're not that old and into sports, so I am assuming that you are in decent shape other than the little valve problem - these factors must be taken into consideration too.
I was set up at some friends' house where everyone was in work or school all day. I would wake up around 8:00, everyone would be gone already, but they had some easy breakfast stuff handy (like cereal, with juice and milk in a smaller containers so I could lift them easily), and same with lunch (I'd have some low-salt crackers and tuna and fruit or cottage cheese or a sandwich), or perhaps someone would be able to pop home during lunch. When I woke up in the morning, I had a leisurely breakfast, a shower, a little nap, a little walk, lunch, some email viewing or leisure time on the deck, then a longer nap, and people were home by the time I woke up. The days went by pretty fast. People dropped in here and there, and were taking me out places every other day or so by the second week. I was armed with everyone's pagers and work numbers. I think if you were staying totally by yourself it would be a different story, but with your wife there in the evenings, helping prepare your meals ahead of time and setting you up with a nice dinner and doing dishes and keeping up with the house stuff, I personally think you could swing it. Didn't need help with showers, could walk around outside by myself, had myself set up with a little chart for my meds. Just needed to take things slow and tell myself NO when I got dumb ideas like helping with the dishes - I had to learn, basically, how to relax on the couch! Be smart - take the cell phone with you when you go for walks, and wear a MedAlert ID, and don't wander off into unpopulated areas by yourself. Cut back on the hot water when taking a shower, as much as it might feel good, so you don't get woozy.
Like I said, my two cents. Ask your cardio and see what he thinks you'll need. What Al said about having your wife take off the first week you're home instead of while you're in the hospital - something to think about. I almost had too many visitors in the hospital - I had a hard time getting my naps in between entertaining them and the nursing staff.
best wishes on all this. keep us posted on your surgery scene.
-Jennie