Craig Hartsburg out of surgery and on the road to recovery

Published 8:29 pm Wednesday, November 3, 2010

I received a call from Tips general manager Doug Soetaert this evening informing me that head coach Craig Hartsburg’s heart surgery went well and everything’s on track for a normal recovery.

Hartsburg, who was diagnosed with an ascending aortic aneurysm, underwent open-heart surgery this morning at Providence Regional Medical Center Everett. The aneurysm was repaired and a section of his aorta was replaced with an artificial graft. The operation began at 7:30 a.m., and Hartsburg was awake around noon.

Soetaert said Hartsburg was actually doing better than expected, and defying any of my expectations, apparently Hartsburg will be up and walking tomorrow. That is just unbelievable.

Well, I’m relieved and thankful everything went well. Hartsburg now begins the recovery process, which is expected to last somewhere around two months. He should be on track to return to the bench sometime early in the new year.