Independence Day 2026 (250th)

(AI Generated Image: ID 449532100 © Hanna Sivakova | Dreamstime.com)

July 4th landscape next to the lake in White Bear Lake, MN

(Collage created at fotonea.com)

5K Run in New Orleans

 

Humble Blogger's son Joe (left front) and grandson Jake (back right) and other DuPont Sales Reps at an early morning Conference associated 5K run in New Orleans.  They represent DuPont at an "AIHA Connect" Occupational & Environmental Health and Safety Scientists Meeting.  

Heart: Two Decades Later!

 

ID 97010649 © Christos Georghiou | Dreamstime.com

Humble Blogger's Minimally Invasive Mitral Valve Repair by Dr. James Gammie and Team at University of Maryland Medical Center on May 11, 2006 is still good after 20 years!  Thus the image of the Happy Heart. 

At the same time Dr. Gammie performed cryothermal MAZE ablation of my right atrium to correct my atrial fibrillation (A-Fib). This procedure stopped my A-Fib for a time.   He also closed the base of the left atrial appendage to minimize blood pooling which contributes to blood clotting and possible strokes. However, while not on Warfarin "blood thinner" some 6 years after this surgery I did suffer a stroke from, which I recovered quickly with few lasting effects because of  excellent medical intervention!! Today, I still have atrial fibrillation (about 80% of the time, determined by daily use of an Omron Blood pressure device which also reports any A-Fib in the blood pressure measurement) which I've learned to live with all these years while taking Warfarin.

See Initial Surgery in this Blog: 20 years ago

See Follow-up in this Blog: after a 10 years.

Dr. James Gammie's Experience in Cardiac Surgery borrowed from his website: as of 5/11/26

James S. Gammie, MD

"Background

James Gammie is the surgical lead and co-director for the Johns Hopkins Heart and Vascular Institute and cardiac surgeon-in-chief for the Johns Hopkins Health System.

With over 23 years of experience in cardiothoracic surgery, Dr. Gammie joined Johns Hopkins after serving as chief of the division of cardiac surgery at the University of Maryland Medical Center from 2012 to 2021. 

Dr. Gammie graduated from Brown University with a degree in biochemistry, and received his medical degree from the University of Massachusetts Medical School. Dr. Gammie trained in both general and cardiothoracic surgery at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

His clinical and research efforts are focused on decreasing the mortality and morbidity of valve disease and improving the surgical treatment of mitral valve and other structural heart diseases. He performs over 225 mitral valve operations and interventions per year, and leads a cardiac surgery team that performs more than 1,200 cardiac operations annually. He is recognized by the Mitral Foundation and the American Heart Association as one of less than 25 reference surgeons in the U.S. for his experience in mitral valve repair and excellent patient outcomes.

Dr. Gammie has a strong interest in all aspects of heart valve disease, and has published more than 200 peer-reviewed contributions in leading specialty journals including The New England Journal of Medicine, the Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery and Circulation. He has served as a deputy editor for The Annals of Thoracic Surgery and as chair of the Access and Publications Committee of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons Adult Cardiac Surgery Database. He serves on the steering committee of the NHLBI-sponsored Cardiothoracic Surgery Trials Network, and led the protocol development committee of a worldwide randomized tricuspid valve surgery trial. He is a member of the Halsted Society and the 21st Century Cardiothoracic Surgical Society.

In 2011, Dr. Gammie was awarded the Johns Hopkins/University of Maryland Alliance for Science and Technology Development BioMaryland LIFE Prize, and he was named Entrepreneur of the Year at the University of Maryland Baltimore in 2014. He is the inventor of a novel transseptal catheter designed to simplify transcatheter cardiac procedures, and founded a commercial company to commercialize the device. With 20 issued or submitted patents, he continues to innovate in the mitral valve space, and recently published the world’s first clinical experience with a novel surgical repair for secondary mitral valve regurgitation, which was developed in his laboratory: mitral valve translocation. From 2016–2021, Dr. Gammie was consistently named a Top Doctor by Baltimore magazine, and in 2018 he received the Golden Apple Teacher of the Year award."

Spring 2026

 

White Bear Lake, MN on a Sunny , Sunday

  (early) Spring day at 68F

Home of the Century College "Wood Ducks"

Place near dugout where bases are sprayed white pre-game

Easter Monday 2026

The risen Jesus and two disciples at Emmaus

[Image ID 91245314 © Jorisvo | Dreamstime.com, Jesus and two disciples at Emmaus. Stained Glass window in the 15th Century Elzenveld Chapel in Antwerp, Belgium]

*Luke 24:28-43

[ When they drew near to the village to which they were going (Emmaus), he (Jesus) made as if to go on; but they pressed him to stay with them. ‘It is nearly evening’ they said ‘and the day is almost over.’ So he went in to stay with them. Now while he was with them at table, he took the bread and said the blessing; then he broke it and handed it to them. .And their eyes were opened and they recognized him; but he had vanished from their sight. Then they said to each other, ‘Did not our hearts bum within us as he talked to us on the road and explained the scriptures to us? ' They set out that instant and returned to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven assembled together with their companions, who said to them, ‘Yes, it is true. The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.’ Then they told their story of what had happened on the road and how they had recognized him at the breaking of bread.

 

They were still talking about all this when he himself stood among them and said to them, ‘Peace be with you!’ In a state of alarm and fright, they thought they were seeing a ghost. But he said, ‘Why are you so agitated, and why are these doubts rising in your hearts? Look at my hands and feet; yes, it is I indeed. Touch me and see for yourselves; a ghost has no flesh and bones as you can see  have.’ And as he said this he showed them his hands and feet. Their joy was so great that they still could not believe it, and they stood there dumbfounded;  so he said to them, ‘Have you anything here to eat? And they offered him a piece of grilled fish, which he took and ate before their eyes. ]

*Note: Scripture passage in brackets [ ] is from the Jerusalem Bible copyright 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd and Doubleday & Company, Inc. Garden City, New York

Easter Sunday 2026

Jesus Has Risen!

[Image ID 441212787 © Jadersalomao23 | Dreamstime.com]

*Matthew 24:1-12

[ On the first day of the week, at the first sign of dawn, they (the women) went to the tomb with the spices they had prepared. They found that the stone had been rolled away from the tomb, but on entering discovered that the body of the Lord Jesus was not there. As they stood there not knowing what to think two men in brilliant clothes suddenly appeared at their side. Terrified, the women lowered their eyes. But the two men said to them, ‘Why look among the dead for someone who is alive? He is not here; HE HAS RISEN. Remember what he told you when he was still in Galilee that the Son of Man had to be handed over into the power of sinful men and be crucified, and rise again on the third day? ' And they remembered his words.

When the women returned from the tomb they told all this to the Eleven and to all the others. The women were Mary of Magdala, Joanna, and Mary the mother of James. The other women with them also told the apostles, but this story of theirs seemed pure nonsense, and they did not believe them.

Peter, however, went running to the tomb. He bent down and saw the binding cloths but nothing else; he then went back home, amazed at what had happened. ]

*Note: Scripture passage in brackets [ ] is from the Jerusalem Bible copyright 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd and Doubleday & Company, Inc. Garden City, New York

Good Friday 2026

Jesus dies on the cross

[Image ID 262509555 © Zatletic | Dreamstime.com. 

 From National Shrine of Saint Joseph in Karlovac, Croatia]

*John 19:23-36

 [ When the soldiers had finished crucifying Jesus they took his clothing and divided it into four shares, one for each soldier. His undergarment was seamless, woven in one piece from neck to hem; so they said to one another, ‘Instead of tearing it, let’s throw dice to decide who is to have it’. In this way the words of scripture were fulfilled: 

They shared out my clothing among them. 

They cast lots for my clothes. 

This is exactly what the soldiers did. 

Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala. Seeing his mother and the disciple he loved (John) standing near her, Jesus said to his mother, 'Woman, this is your son'. Then to the disciple he said, 'This is your mother'. And from that moment the disciple made a place for her in his home. 

After this, Jesus knew that everything had now been completed, and to fulfil the scripture perfectly he said:  'I am thirsty'. A jar full of vinegar stood there, so putting a sponge soaked in the vinegar on a hyssop stick they held it up to his mouth. After Jesus had taken the vinegar  he said, 

'It is accomplished'; and bowing his head he gave up his spirit." 

It was Preparation Day, and to prevent the bodies remaining on the cross during the sabbath, since that sabbath was a day of special solemnity, the Jews asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken away. Consequently the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with him and then of the other. When they came to Jesus, they found q he was already dead, and so instead of breaking his legs one of the soldiers pierced his side ,with a lance; and immediately there came out blood and water. This is the evidence of one who saw it, trustworthy evidence, and he knows he speaks the truth and he gives it so that you may believe as well. Because all this happened to fulfil the words of scripture: 

Not one bone of his will be broken

and again, in another place scripture says: 

They will look on the one whom they have pierced. ]

*Note: Scripture passage in brackets [ ] is from the  Jerusalem Bible copyright 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd and Doubleday & Company, Inc. Garden City, New York