American Heart Month: Phoenix transplant patient defies the odds
PHOENIX - A man whose heart failed him two years ago is alive today to tell his story as the 100th heart transplant recipient at Banner - University Medical Center in Phoenix.
It all began in December 2022, when Steven Ekdahl collapsed on his bathroom floor. His heart stopped beating, and first responders pronounced him dead.
Ekdahl's wife remembers that day as if it were yesterday.
"Police came to me, and he goes 'I'm sorry. He's dead. He's pronounced dead,'" Ekdahl's wife recounted. "I said 'no, He's not dead.'"
Despite what police told her, Ekdahl's wife prayed and never lost hope. 75 minutes later, her prayers were answered.
"After the prayer I started moving," Ekdahl said. "I moved my legs and my arms."
AZ heart transplant patient defies the odds
In late 2022, Steven Ekdahl collapsed on his bathroom floor, and eventually, it was determined that he needed a new heart. Despite all odds, he is alive to tell his story as the 100th recipient of a heart transplant at Banner - University Medical Center in Phoenix. FOX 10's Lindsey Ragas reports.
Ekdahl was rushed to the hospital, but doctors said his future was uncertain.
"We had him come in. He was what we call sudden death," said Dr. Radha Gopalan with Banner - University Medical Center. "He was dying every few hours."
At the hospital, Ekdahl went into cardiac arrest, and every two to three hours, staff performed CPR. Ekdahl's only hope was an artifical heart, something he initially refused until he realized it could save his life.
"The device, the heart, is designed to replace, in its entirety, a human heart," said Patrick Schnegelsberg, CEO of SynCardia. "It's driven by a mechanical driver. A pump."
Steven
"I was dead a few times, and once I got that artificial heart, I felt pretty secure, a renewed confidence that maybe I am going to get through all this," said Ekdahl.
Six months later, Ekdahl received the gift of a lifetime: a donor heart transplant.
"One of the heart team specialists came in and said, kiddingly, what are you doing Thursday?" Ekdahl recounted. "I'm laying there saying nothing, and he said ‘well, we have a heart for you.’"
On Feb. 16, in front of the doctors and medical staff who helped save his life, Ekdahl received the artifical heart that kept him alive, in celebration of American Heart Month.
So far in 2024, Banner - University Medical Center has done five artificial heart surgeries. In 2023, a total of 11 such surgeries were done.