What I do
- Founded LVADStrong and lead our work as an independent, patient-led nonprofit supporting LVAD patients and caregivers.
- Help create programs, resources, peer support, community outreach, and advocacy efforts based on what patients and families actually need.
- Build relationships with hospitals, clinicians, industry, community organizations, and other nonprofits while making sure the patient voice stays at the center.
- Share my own experience as an LVAD patient to help others better understand what life with advanced heart failure and an LVAD looks like beyond the hospital walls.
Background
I received an LVAD in 2022 at age 37 after becoming critically ill with advanced heart failure while on vacation. Everything changed very quickly. I went from living independently to waking up with a heart pump, batteries, a controller, and an entirely new reality that I had to learn how to navigate.
Living with an LVAD has taught me a lot about fear, uncertainty, resilience, and the importance of having people around you who truly understand what you are going through. I have also seen firsthand how much empathy, communication, and simple human connection can shape a patient’s experience. Those lessons became a big part of why I started LVADStrong.
Why I serve
I serve because I know how isolating this experience can feel, especially in the beginning. Surviving heart failure is only the first part. After that, you still have to figure out how to live again, how to trust your body, how to navigate relationships, work, mental health, independence, and all of the uncertainty that comes with life on an LVAD.
I wanted to help create the kind of community I wish every patient and caregiver had from day one. A place where people feel understood, supported, and heard. LVADStrong gives me a way to turn my own experience into something that can help someone else feel a little less alone, and that is what keeps me committed to this work.
Phil MortonFounder & CEO