About 40 people who are living with mechanical heart pumps are having a picnic in San Dieguito Park tomorrow afternoon. The annual event gives heart patients a chance to swap stories and thank their doctors.
Frank Favro will be one of the new faces at the picnic.
He suffered a heart attack and had quadruple bypass surgery in the early 90s. Over time, he developed congestive heart failure.
Favro spent two months at Sharp Memorial Hospital waiting for a heart transplant last fall. Finally, surgeons implanted a mechanical heart pump to keep him alive.
The 66-year-old Favro said it's working like a charm.
"I feel better than I have in the last two years," the Jamul resident explained. "It's unbelievable. I can do anything that I used to be able to do. There's some limitations, but, I split three cords of word a couple of weeks ago."
Like most others with mechanical hearts, Favro is still waiting for a transplant. He has to wear a pager and must remain within four hours of the hospital at all times.
There are only about 2,000 heart transplants a year nationwide. Three thousand people are on the waiting list on any given day.
