I flew to Minneapolis this morning to visit my mother in the hospital. She is recovering from surgery, which appears thus far to have been successful. She is expected to remain in the hospital until early next week and her prognosis at this time is guardedly optimistic. My mother is as energetic a 90 year old as you will ever meet which made it especially difficult to see her so fragile after her ordeal. She is already very skinny so the loss of several more pounds has been less than ideal. She cannot have any food or liquids until her digestion resumes which is not expected for another few days. She was aggressively treated for a dramatic drop in blood pressure this morning which had stabilized by the time I visited in the afternoon. She is connected to more tubes than I could keep straight and this has made it difficult for her to rest. She was alert and coherent during my visit and I left the hospital with a sense of relief.