Ohio State fandom is a serious thing, and for 10-year-old Ivan Applin, he didn’t want to compromise that fandom when pediatric surgeons at the C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital (part of the University of Michigan Health System) were going to perform a surgery to try and correct a congenital heart defect in him.

When Ivan, a native of Toledo, Ohio, was shown by doctors the device that would fix the holes in his heart, he had only one burning question.

From UofMHealthBlogs:

“He asked if the Michigan doctors were going to make his heart love University of Michigan instead of Ohio State,” his mother Jennifer laughs.

The doctors assured Ivan his love for Ohio State would remain strong when he woke up from the surgery.

The procedure was a success, and Ivan just wants to get back out on the athletic fields now.

“He keeps asking me to take out the calendar and show him the exact day his recovery period is officially over so he can stop resting,” Jennifer says. “He wants to make sure it’s in time for his first soccer practice.”

It’s a beautiful story, and here’s hoping Ivan keeps rooting for the Buckeyes for a long time.

(Thanks to SB Nation for sharing.)