Stein turned away from his notes and beamed at Maraich at the question. "He looks very well, yes," he said. "Nothing at all wrong with him that I can see from here."

He switched off the machine and offered Maraich a towel to wipe the remaining gel off. "Well, it looks like everything is even better than I hoped," he said. "It should be a very routine procedure, though what I said about lifting him for the first six weeks will stand. I believe you can even stay awake for the surgery, after all."