Dear Minnesota,
I’d like you to know that the first open heart surgery took place at the University of Minnesota in 1952.

I’m grateful to Dr. C. Walter Lillehei and his Golden Gopher medical colleagues for performing this historic procedure because, years later, I needed the same surgery to replace my defective aortic valve. Had the surgery not been available to me – and had Dr. Lillehei not also developed the first prosthetic heart valve – it’s possible that I wouldn’t be here today.

The discovery of this life-saving surgery at the U of M spawned a robust medical device industry in the Twin Cities, which employs nearly 26,000 people and generates billions of dollars to the state’s economy. One of those companies is Fridley-based Medtronic, which developed the prosthetic valve that was implanted in me and is giving countless people like me a second chance.

Because of top-notch faculty and students, progress towards such life-changing discoveries is happening each day at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities and its four coordinate campuses.

This progress will always have a special place in my heart.