Barney Clark’s 3-Month Experience

Significant dates in the saga of Barney Clark, the world’s first permanent artificial heart recipient:

Dec. 1, 1982--Clark is rushed to surgery at the University of Utah Medical Center in Salt Lake City in advance of his scheduled Dec. 3 operation, because of his heart’s deterioration.

Dec. 2--In the early hours, a team headed by Dr. William C. DeVries removes Clark’s heart and implants a Jarvik-7 artificial heart.

Dec. 4--DeVries reoperates on Clark to repair ruptured air sacs in his lungs.

Dec. 7--Clark suffers seizures, leaving him semiconscious for days and suffering mental confusion and depression in following weeks.

Dec. 14--His blood pressure drops precipitously, and doctors diagnose that a broken weld in the valve of the heart’s left ventricle. They reopen Clark’s chest, replace the ventricle. Clark also is diagnosed with mild pneumonia and is listed in “extremely critical condition.”

Dec. 19--He stands for the first time.

Dec. 22--Clark takes his first few steps since heart replacement.

Dec. 23--He eats his first soft food by mouth.

Jan. 18, 1983--Nosebleeds develop, with surgery required to control them.

Feb. 14--Clark is upgraded to fair condition.

Feb. 16--He is returned to intensive care because of kidney and respiratory problems.

Feb. 24--He goes back to his private room, despite breathing problems.

March 23--At 10:02 p.m. MST, Clark, now 62, is declared dead after showing no neurological response for several hours and having suffered multiple organ failure. His plastic substitute heart, which has beaten nearly 13 million times, is turned off.

March 29--Some 1,300 mourners attend funeral in Federal Way, Wash., for Clark, who is hailed as “a selfless pioneer.”