Adventist Health Portland | Living Well | Fall 2023

10 LIVING WELL A lot of people imagine philanthropy is just for the rich and famous. But one Northwest Regional Heart & Vascular patient begs to differ. David* was no stranger to heart issues. His father died of a heart attack at age 61. When David’s heart went into an irregular rhythm and his pulse was low, it was Northwest Regional’s Eugene Spear, MD, who saved him. “He paddled my heart four times,” David recalls. Dr. Spear referred David to Thomas Molloy, MD, Northwest Regional heart surgeon. “Luckily, through medications, Drs. Molloy and Spear [have kept] me from surgery, at least to this point.” While working on his estate planning, David felt inspired to make Adventist Health the beneficiary of one of his retirement accounts and called Dr. Molloy to find out how. “Not too many men make it to age 80, and I have. I felt the advancement in cardiology has kept me going, along with God’s grace,” he explains. “So, I just particularly wanted to direct my gift to the cardiovascular department. Maybe it’ll help somebody else.” *David is a pseudonym for this donor, who wishes to remain anonymous. Eugene Spear, MD, with a heart patient. Gratitude, Grace and Giving Back An ‘average Joe’ shares why he hopes to help others Giving Every Gift Matters Every gift of every size can make a difference in our community. To learn more about our events and initiatives, visit AdventistHealth.org/ PortlandFoundation.

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