Notre Dame legend Lujack is making strides after surgery

Former Notre Dame Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Lujack continues to recover from surgery he underwent at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.

Lujack, 89, is walking, according to his grandson and granddaughter after being moved from the post-surgical floor to the rehabilitation floor. The 1947 Heisman winner had decompression (laminectomy) surgery on July 30 . The surgery, according to his grandson, Grant Pohlmann, entailed removing some bones from the spine and inserting metal rods and screws to support the upper spine near his head.

Lujack is assisted with walking at all times, but his grandchildren wrote that he is doing the majority of his walking, sitting up and standing “with only a gentle touch from his therapists.”

Doctors are determining when Lujack can return home to Bettendorf, Iowa. Once there he will continue physical therapy as an outpatient. Lujack is participating in three hours of various therapies at the Mayo Clinic.

BWieneke@SBTinfo.com | 574-235-6428| Twitter: @BobWienekeNDI