I was in the very first group of doctors trained to provide VAD care and have seen over 70 patients through the process.

A consistent theme for patients has been the comfort they feel from wresting back some control after whatever revolting disease has robbed them of so much.

No longer fearing dying paradoxically gives patients a new lease of life. As one man put it, “Now that I’ve got the dying sorted out, I can get on with living.”

One woman’s partner told me that when she finally got her little black box of VAD medicine, she felt safe enough to stop some of her palliative care medications.