October 2012 update: Sadly, Tammy Lumpkins died at Keck Hospital of USC on Oct. 2, her 47th birthday. Lumpkins was re-admitted to the hospital in January as she awaited a heart transplant. To read a memorial by Michael Bowdish, Lumpkins’ heart surgeon, go to http://keck.usc.edu/lumpkins.

By Alison Trinidad
Photos by Sara Reeve

Tammy Lumpkins needed a new heart — she found one at the University of Southern California (USC) and it saved her life.

But it's made of plastic.

The 46-year-old Modesto resident received a total artificial heart at Keck Hospital of USC in September, and on Nov. 9, she became the first person on the West Coast to go home with one.

Patients who are implanted with total artificial hearts like Tammy's typically have to stay in the hospital because the air compressor that keeps them pumping can weigh more than 500 pounds. But a clinical trial headed by Michael Bowdish, M.D., assistant professor of surgery at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, has changed all that.

Now, the compressor weighs 15 pounds and can be carried in a backpack.

 

Lumpkins was diagnosed with congestive heart failure in 1999. She was living comfortably on medication and a pacemaker until April of this year. Her health quickly began to deteriorate until it finally landed her in the hospital in July.

As she waited for a heart transplant, her health continued to decline. Her cardiologist referred her to USC.

Lumpkins' one wish was to see her 19-year-old son, Edward, graduate from college in December. She was running out of time.

Bowdish and his team at the USC Cardiovascular Thoracic Institute implanted the artificial heart in September and Lumpkins' health has turned around. The device gives her the time she needs to get a heart transplant. More importantly, it gives her tomorrow to look forward to.

From left: Keck Hospital of USC nurses April Legaspi and Alma Hernandez, Dale Lumpkins, Tammy Lumpkins, transplant coordinator Uzma Qureshi, lead transplant coordinator Felicia Schenkel and cardiovascular thoracic surgeon Michael Bowdish

"It's going to be good," Lumpkins said. "I don't know exactly what I'm going to do, but now I feel like I have a future."