People: Sep. 3, 2001

HE TAKES A LICKING BUT KEEPS ON WHIRRING

ROBERT TOOLS woke up one day and discovered he had lost his heart. In its place was a buzzing 4-lb., grapefruit-size plastic-and-titanium lump. Nevertheless, Tools was happy to be able to wake up at all. His real heart had failed him, and he had become the first person to receive a fully contained mechanical heart. The retired tech librarian, 59, from Franklin, Ky., revealed his identity and addressed the media last week--two months after doctors had given him only 30 days to live. Tools opted to have the device, the AbioCor, implanted as...

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