They say no man is a good doctor who has never been sick himself. For one local doctor, that proved to be true after receiving his own transplant.

Research doctor Stephan Lakos suffered heart failure after years of disease, and faced certain death. But doctors implanted a life saving device that kept him alive for nine months until he hear then news he was getting a new heart.

“This is what we call an LVAC, a machine we implant in the body to assist pumping of the heart,” said Sutter Dr. Robert Kincade

The new heart was successfully implanted days ago. A week later, the 69-year-old is out the door.

“This guy was sicker than the typical patient, but he’s doing so good,” said Sutter Dr. John Chin. “His recovery time and everything else is so much quicker.”

The Hungarian-born doctor who was granted political asylum in the back in the 1980′s is getting yet another chance at a better life — this time from his own kind.

“Oh, I feel great,” said Dr. Lakos. “They are the best doctors in the world,” he said, referring to the doctors who performed the operation.

When he was first diagnosed, Dr. Lakos was told he had just six months to live. Now, with his new heart, he’s looking forward to another two decades, leaving his best friend, Lad Wentzel, both emotional and ready to hold him to an old promise.

“Let me tell you, we have a deal we made two years ago. You’re taking me to Budapest because I want to see all these things you talk about,” said Wentzel.

With promises to fulfill and projects to complete, the doctor who became the patient also hopes to one day become a donor.

By having these life-saving programs available at Sutter Memorial, patients from the Sacramento Valley can continue to receive their surgery and lifetime care, close to home.

The CDC said Tuesday that illnesses have been reported in Arizona, California Colorado, Hawaii, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Washington.

Townsend Farms of Fairview, Ore., last week recalled its frozen Organic Antioxidant Blend, packaged under the Townsend Farms label at Costco and under the Harris Teeter brand at those stores. So far the illnesses have only been linked to the berries sold at Costco.

Hepatitis A is a contagious liver disease that can last from a few weeks to a several months. Vaccination can prevent illness if given within two weeks of exposure.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.

WASHINGTON (AP) — An Oregon company is recalling a frozen berry mix sold to Costco and Harris Teeter stores after the product was linked to at least 34 hepatitis A illnesses in five states.

The Food and Drug Administration said Tuesday that Townsend Farms of Fairview, Ore., is recalling its frozen Organic Antioxidant Blend, packaged under the Townsend Farms label at Costco and under the Harris Teeter brand at those stores.

Illnesses were reported in Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Arizona and California. Hawaii health officials are also investigating three cases of hepatitis A in people who have eaten the frozen berry product.

The recall came three days after the FDA and the federal Centers for Disease Control first announced a suspected link between the berries and the illnesses. The agency did not say why there was not an immediate recall.

Costco has stores across the country, while Harris Teeter stores are in eight East Coast states and the District of Columbia. Both grocery chains have said they have pulled the product from store shelves.

Hepatitis A is a contagious liver disease that can last from a few weeks to a several months. People often contract it when an infected food handler prepares food without appropriate hand hygiene. Food already contaminated with the virus can also cause outbreaks.

The FDA said it is inspecting the processing facilities of Townsend Farms. The CDC said the strain of hepatitis is rarely seen in North or South America but is found in the North Africa and Middle East regions.

Bill Gaar, a lawyer for Townsend Farms, said last week that the frozen organic blend bag includes pomegranate seeds from Turkey. The seeds are only used in the product associated with the outbreak and no other Townsend Farms products, he said.

“We do have very good records, we know where the (pomegranate seeds) came from, we’re looking into who the broker is and we’re sourcing it back up the food chain to get to it,” Gaar said.

Hepatitis A illnesses occur within 15 to 50 days of exposure to the virus. Symptoms include fatigue, abdominal pain, jaundice, abnormal liver tests, dark urine and pale stool.

Vaccination can prevent illness if given within two weeks of exposure, and those who have already been vaccinated are unlikely to become ill, according to CDC.

CDC said the first illnesses were reported at the end of April. The same genotype of hepatitis A was identified in an outbreak in Europe linked to frozen berries this year, the CDC said, as well as a 2012 outbreak in British Columbia related to a frozen berry blend with pomegranate seeds from Egypt. In addition to the United States and Turkey, the agency said the Townsend Farms berries also included products from Argentina and Chile.

A union representing some 13,000 hospital pharmacists, nursing assistants, operating room scrubs and other health care workers began the walkout at 4 a.m. at medical facilities in San Diego, Orange, Los Angeles, Santa Monica, San Francisco and Sacramento.

Nurses were not on strike, emergency rooms were open, and about 450 union employees remained in critical jobs under court order.

The hospitals had prepared for the strike by postponing non-essential surgeries, hiring hundreds of temporary workers and having supervisors do some jobs.

No major problems were reported in the initial hours of the strike as green-shirted picketers gathered in front of hospitals.

“We are prepared to take care of everybody in a safe fashion,” said Dr. Tom Rosenthal, chief medical officer of UCLA Hospital Systems.

About 30 surgeries were being postponed through the strike period at Los Angeles-area facilities, Rosenthal said.

More than 200 surgeries were rescheduled at San Diego and Orange County medical facilities, officials told City News Service.

The union is battling the university system over staffing and pension issues.

“We care about our patients and we feel that we’re chronically understaffed and we need additional help,” Ruben Gomez, a radiation therapist in Los Angeles, told KCBS-TV.

There was no clear count of how many union workers had joined the walkout, which was set to last until early Thursday.

“We are well into the thousands” of employees, said Todd Stenhouse, a spokesman for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.

However, Rosenthal said a preliminary estimate indicated that more than half of union employees had reported for work at UC facilities in the Los Angeles area.

Stenhouse said the labor dispute involved chronic and dangerously low staffing levels. The union is concerned that the UC system is using trainees and volunteers in some positions in a bid to save money, he said.

“If you’re going to a hospital, do you want to be subjected to a learning curve when your life is at stake?” he asked. “We really undermine our ability to provide quality care.”

Overworked employees are skipping lunches and breaks to do their jobs, he contended. One operating room technician has been working 22-hour shifts at his hospital or on call, he added.

UC officials say the real issue is a refusal by the union to accept a new pension plan — similar to those of other state workers — that requires more employee contributions and reduces long-term benefits for new hires.

The hospital system could face billions of dollars in new pension costs unless there is reform, Rosenthal said.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.

By Peter Russell

Reviewed by Farah Ahmed, MD

By Kathleen Doheny

Reviewed by Michael W. Smith, MD