Heart Patient ‘Doing Well,’ Eats, Takes a Few Steps

Heart transplant patient Michael Drummond ate, took a few steps and had a “glow on his face” a day after his artificial heart was replaced with the heart of a traffic accident victim.

Drummond remained in critical but stable condition Sunday and was “doing very well,” said Nina Trasoff, a spokeswoman at University Medical Center, which is affiliated with the University of Arizona.

Drummond was able to stand and walk “two or three steps” and ate a breakfast of hot cereal and orange juice, Trasoff said.

Drummond, whose heart was damaged by a virus, became the youngest recipient of a Jarvik-7 artificial heart in an Aug. 29 operation at the medical center. It was the first time the Jarvik-7 device had been used to sustain a patient’s life until a human heart could be located.

Drummond’s aphasia, or difficulty in speaking, which appeared after he suffered a series of small strokes Thursday, had all but disappeared by Sunday, Trasoff said.

Drummond’s parents expressed their thanks to the family of Tarro Griffin, the 19-year-old Texas man whose heart was implanted in Drummond’s chest in a 4-hour, 45-minute operation Saturday morning.

“We talked to Michael one hour ago and it’s just wonderful with his new heart,” said Drummond’s father, Clarence. “We want to just thank everybody all over the country, everybody who’s been praying for us.”

Drummond said his son “did have a glow on his face this morning.”