Out Of Icu, Mantle Takes A Short Walk

Mickey Mantle did something Sunday he hadn’t been able to do in more than a week: He took a walk.

As a prescribed part of his recovery from liver transplant surgery last Thursday, the 63-yearold baseball Hall of Famer got out of bed and walked to a chair.

Mantle’s first steps with his new liver came a day after he was transferred out of intensive care at Baylor University Medical Center.

Dr. Goran Klintmalm, medical director of the Baylor Transplantation Institute, said that Mantle’s mood is “quite cheerful. He really has a good attitude.”

Klintmalm said increasing Mantle’s mobility was the next goal.

“He’ll keep walking more frequently,” he said. “First, it’s around his room, but he could be walking into the hallway today or tomorrow.”

The next phase of recovery is fighting off likely attempts by Mantle’s body to reject the new organ. Klintmalm said Mantle runs a “60-65 percent risk” of having it happen. Only 1.7 percent of liver transplant patients require immediate retransplantation.

The surgeon added that rejection can be countered with drugs, antibiotics and steroids.

Mantle spent the weekend watching baseball on television, said Klintmalm, adding the star should be ingesting liquids by mouth this week.