Hope all goes as well as it can for you, nklinesider - sorry to hear that.
Do what you gotta do first, the fishing will still be around for you when you need it the most.
"There is no royal road to this heavy surf-fishing. With all the appliances for comfort experience can suggest, there is a certain amount of hard work to be done and exposure to be bourne as a part of the price of success." From "Striped Bass," Scribner's Magazine, 1881.