Hi, this is Bob.  Laurie and I are in Ann Arbor, MI awaiting my aortic valve surgery.  My surgery is set for Thursaday, Nov. 6th. in the AM at the University of Michigan Hospital Medical Center which has an entire facility called the Cardiovascular Center in a brand new building.  The CV Center is the size of a large hospital.   The doc that is doing the surgery (Dr. Michael Deeb) has the largest aortic valve replacement practice in the US -- so that's why we are here.  

Suddendly, maize and blue have become my favorite colors.  And I'm keeping my ND affiliation a secret for obvious reasons.  I feel so sorry for Michigan football this year -- such a bad losing season could never happen to ND or Wisconsin.

Laurie will blog on the progress as she can while the operation is in progress.  She will communicate the progress during recovery as well.  If anyone cares to respond to the Laurie's blog feel free to do so.  It will probably be a good diversion for her.   I'll eventually get a chance to look at the posts when I'm feeling better.

We are told that I will be in intesive care around three days and in the hopital around 5-7 days in total.  We will need to stay around Ann Arbor for an addition 3-7 days before coming home. Both Laurie and I are new at blogging so things may be a little goofy at first but I'm confident we will get the hang of it.

We are doing things around the area to stay busy.  Ann Arbor has some great places to eat.  Hope this info finds everyone well and without any medical problems!  We will keep you posted  -- so to speak.  Bob