General Hospital spoilers reveal Heather Webber (Alley Mills) is about to go under the knife, and it’ll be Laura Collins (Genie Francis) who paces the waiting room, wondering if she may see signs of her old friend bubbling to the surface after her hip is replaced.

Years ago, Heather’s artificial hip was installed with cobalt, which has now poisoned her and caused a condition known as metallosis.

With the doctors telling her metallosis can cause severe changes in a person’s behavior, Laura can’t stop wondering if that is what caused Heather to go from being an unstable woman to a homicidal maniac. In the wake of her surgery and continued detoxing from cobalt poisoning, will Heather do an about-face. If so, what will that mean for her crimes of the past?

General Hospital Spoilers — A New Lease on Life

While many people might feel like they’ve been granted a second chance at life after a necessary hip replacement, Heather’s surgery won’t be for the purpose of mobility.

Instead, removing the cobalt and detoxing her body could see Heather return to her somewhat normal prior self.

Will she see the mistakes she has made in an entirely new light — seeking forgiveness instead of revenge, and fulfillment via friendship over the fulfillment of an agenda?

If so, might Laura be willing to entertain letting Heather back into her life just like the good old days? Can she really look past all that she’s done and open her arms that wide? If anyone can do it, it’s Laura, right?

GH Spoilers – Spill the Circumstances Have Changed

While Laura might be willing to reconsider her friendship with Heather after seeing familiar and more stable thoughts and behavior emerge from her, that doesn’t mean the law is on Heather’s side.

However, she was persecuted for the crimes she committed and sentenced based on the law as it pertains to a chronically insane person.

In reality, if Heather was unknowingly suffering from an undiagnosed but temporary condition that caused temporary insanity, would that negate the sentences handed down to her?

If that’s the case, we could see Heather leaving prison altogether soon, versus heading to San Quentin.

General Hospital Spoilers — Is It All A Ruse?

Of course, nothing is ever as it seems with Heather. Even when she was not quite this level of crazy, she wasn’t exactly normal. She could never handle rejection from friends or lovers — much less her kids.

She’ll still be grieving Esme Prince’s (Avery Kristen Pohl) death for some time, but she might grieve it in more responsible and reasonable ways — without lashing out at everyone around her and plotting revenge against anyone who didn’t protect Esme.

The question is: Will that be genuine, or will Heather use this opportunity to pretend she has recovered from temporary insanity just to finagle her way out of prison and back into Laura and Kevin Collins’ (Jon Lindstrom) lives where she can wreak havoc?

Stay tuned for more GH news and spoilers to see how this plays out.