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Riverhead chamber honoree hospitalized after open heart surgery

Jim Lull in a 1999 photo

Former Riverhead Town Board member and this year’s Riverhead Chamber of Commerce honoree Jim Lull underwent open heart surgery in Rochester last Friday.

Mr. Lull, 70, and his wife Connie, who ran the Riverhead Country Fair for close to three decades before stepping aside in the fall, will be honored as the chamber’s Persons of the Year during the chamber’s annual awards party on Friday at Hotel Indigo on Route 25 in Riverhead. Due to the surgery, the pair will not be there to accept the award in person.

“He is progressing rapidly, perhaps a little better than average,” Ms. Lull said in an e-mail. “But it is a long recuperation.”

Mr. Lull underwent surgery at Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester to implant a left ventricular assist device which improves blood flow. He will be intensive care for the next few days, according to his wife.

“We greatly appreciate the prayers and hugs of support you’ve been sending our way,”  Ms. Lull said “We have all been maintaining positive attitudes. Strong is filled with people who know and are patient and caring.”

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