Living with a heart condition puts you in the paths of many great people (online or in-person). Most touching and inspiring of them all is surely meeting other heart disease patients (LVAD survivors in particular).

Personal Journey

Meeting Other Heart Patients

August 13, 2017

4 min read

Somaneh Bouba

It is an opportunity for me to listen to and learn from other patients. I also get to share the few lessons I've picked up along my journey. There is always a brief silent moment when I meet another person with an LVAD. A moment that seems to acknowledge and appreciate our respective struggles.

We have a special appreciation for the 'necessary nuisance' that is the LVAD. The device that helps us live (until heart transplant for many of us). While we are grateful every day for the device, it's the rest of life that seems to concern us more. How work life and parenting are affected are two popular themes we often share notes on.

These encounters are like short therapy sessions for me. They help me project myself in the future and with being more patient with the process. Fellow heart patients are huge motivators, and for that I am grateful to them, their support and care teams. I hope that I would be able to be there for others as they've been there for me.