Looks like Blake Lively's dad, Ernie Lively, will have the energy to play with his youngest daughter's desired "30 kids" following a life-changing heart procedure.
The retired actor, 66, who suffered a massive heart attack back in 2003, underwent a groundbreaking surgery on Nov. 7; Dr. Amit Patel of the University of Utah School of Medicine performed the very first successful retrograde heart procedure on Lively. The minimally invasive technique, involving stem cell therapy, helps repair damaged arteries and muscles on the human heart. Lively first connected with Patel back in February after the doctor saved his life following a complication with an angiogram.
"I woke up the other morning and told my wife, 'I haven't felt this good in years,'" said Lively in a statement released by the University of Utah. "I moved to Utah because of the snow, but I haven't been able to ski. I literally didn’t have the heart to do it. Now, I’m excited about living the rest of my life instead of sitting around.”
"I have three rambunctious grandchildren in Utah and three more in California who are a lot of fun and keep me busy. And I think I’ll have more," the patriarch of the Lively family added, hinting at Blake, 26, and son-in-law Ryan Reynolds' future family.
"My youngest daughter is newly married and wants a big family. She says she wants 30 kids. I said, 'Why don’t you start with one?'" he joked. The Gossip Girl lead and her Green Lantern costar, 37, who married in September 2012, have expressed their desire to have children.
"We both come from big families — my parents did four, Blake’s did five,” Reynolds told Details in its August 2013 issue. “A lot of people say it’s crazy, but we’ll only know when we’re there, you know? We’ll walk through that fire pretty happily, I think.”
Ernie lives in Heber City, Utah with his second wife Elaine, also 66. They are parents to Blake and her brother Eric, 32, plus their half-siblings Lori, 47, Jason, 45, and Robyn, 41.
