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One Sunday in June 2016, I wasn’t feeling right and told my wife to call 911. The paramedics quickly determined I was having a heart attack and rushed me by ambulance to Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center in Rockville, Maryland.

One of my arteries was 100% blocked—what’s known as a “widowmaker” heart attack. But through the heroic efforts of the on-call interventional cardiologist and the catheterization lab team, my wife did not become a widow. My children still had a father. I survived. Thankfully. Gratefully.

Afterward, I participated in the hospital’s congestive heart failure clinic and completed a 12-week cardiac rehabilitation program. The care I received was not only life-saving—it was life-changing.

Several months later, I received a letter from the hospital’s foundation, inviting me to consider a donation. My wife and I talked it over. We agreed: Shady Grove was a worthy cause. We made a gift…not nominal, not yet transformative…but meaningful to us. It was the beginning of what has become a nine-year relationship with the hospital.

When I retired following the heart attack, I reached out to ask how I could get more involved. I was invited to join the foundation’s board of trustees. Over time, I took on more leadership roles and eventually became board chair. Each year, we made our most significant charitable gift to the hospital—out of gratitude, and a desire to help others receive the same level of care.

In 2021, the foundation launched a comprehensive campaign to support a new 150,000-square-foot patient tower, including a state-of-the-art catheterization lab, emergency department, ICU, progressive care unit, and private rooms. My wife and I made a multi-year commitment. And this year, we took another step—enhancing our gift to make it truly transformative. We gave part in cash and part as a planned gift, naming the hospital as a partial beneficiary of my IRA.

In recognition, the hospital is naming the catheterization lab in our honor.

But that’s not the reason we give.

The reason is simple: But for Shady Grove Medical Center, I would not be alive.

I want that same quality, compassionate care to be available for every heart attack or stroke patient who comes through its doors. It does my heart good to know others will now have an even better chance — because of what we gave.

I am a lucky, grateful man. And it gives our family deep satisfaction to know we’re helping others get their second chance too.