The Nation - News from March 11, 1985

Artificial heart patient William J. Schroeder spent 30 minutes of a sunny afternoon riding through Louisville, Ky., neighborhoods on his first trip away from Humana Hospital Audubon with the compressed air-driven pump, a spokeswoman said. Schroeder became the first of the world’s three human recipients of a permanent mechanical heart to leave hospital grounds. “He greatly enjoyed being outside and spending time with his grandchildren, who were with him” for Saturday’s spur-of-the-moment ride in a customized van, spokeswoman Linda Broadus said.