All Winchell, All the Time

Remember how I told you April Winchell is God and how easily distracted I am? I’m sure you hadn’t noticed…

As part of that “distracted” post, I wrote that I saw on Paul Winchell’s site where he claims to have invented the artificial heart. I never did find the truth of the matter. However, if you put stuff like this out on the internet, then be prepared for it to be found, friends. I got an e-mail from Stacy Winchell (April’s brother) about it!

Hey, Solonor!,

I just read your blurb about whether or not Paul Winchell invented the artificial heart. Let me shed some light on the subject for you!

First of all my name is Stacy Paul Winchell and although the name is the same, I am not related to my biological father, Paul Winchell however, I am related to my sister April Winchell who has so graciously placed a link to my website on her own.

As to the subject at hand. In the mid to late sixties my father who fancied himself an innate physician, began to hang around with some physicians he had befriended to learn more about medicine. One of his pals even allowed him to snip out one of my tonsils during surgery a fact that I am and always will be profoundly grateful for not to mention the doctors excellent judgment.

He became close friends with Arthur Murray’s (the ballroom dancing instructor) son-in-law, Dr. Henry Heimlich, developer of the Heimlich maneuver. Henry encouraged him to to obtain a patent on the device but because he was a non-physician, the U.S. patent office was reluctant to issue the patent.They finally relented in 1961, issuing the first patent for a human artificial heart to my father.Fortunately I was old enough to protest by that time or I certain they would have elected to test that on me as well.

Over the following several years, my father had done no further research on the device due in part to a lack of facilities, cooperation and funding for a non-physician to do medical research. Dr. Willem Kolff from The University of Utah had developed a conceptually similar device and when the university attempted to obtain a patent they found that there had been one issued years earlier. Dr. Kolff contacted my father proposing that they combine efforts and that my father donate the patent to the university so they could continue research together.

My father agreed however shortly after signing the release and agreement Robert Jarvik was enlisted to work out the technical problems since my father was not exactly a biomedical engineer and the heart as he invented in it’s unmodified form implanted in a calf fairly rapidly resulted in the animals demise.

So in short … Yes he has the original patent on the artificial heart for humans issued in 1961. No… without the help of others with scientific expertise couldn’t keep a complex organism alive for any protracted period of time and finally, If they ever invent a method that can successfully bring the dead back to life, I guess Mary Shelly should ultimately get the credit since it was her idea when she wrote Frankenstein!

To verify my identity, see my website at http://www.papersunproductions.com

Hey and a little plug wouldn’t go without appreciation if you should be so kind!

Thanks,

Stacy Winchell

Consider yourself plugged, sir.