Woman surprises doctors with heart healing

[KMSP-TV Fox 9, February 11, 2014] Three years ago, Collette Koskinen was in a hospital bed, barely able to move. Her heart was giving out because of a virus. She was too sick for a transplant. To keep the single mom alive, doctors cut a hole in her heart muscle and installed a mechanical pump so her blood would still circulate.

As the pump worked to keep her alive, her heart became stronger. Doctors said Collette's heart was strong enough that it should be able to work without the assistance of that little jet engine implanted in her chest.

"In a small group of people we're finding that the heart recovers and in those individuals we'll take it out," said Dr. Benjamin Sun at Allina Health's Minneapolis Heart Institute.