We’re excited to partner with the 2015 Bakken Invitational Awards to share stories of what it means to Live On. Give On. and Give Back. And we’re providing $100 gift card to help you share in the spirit of giving back to the community.
“Life isn’t about what you got, but what you gave.”
That’s a mantra that I like to say I live by, but when you take a look at the 12 Honorees for the 2015 Bakken Invitation Award you really understand what it means. Each of these extraordinary individuals shows how the will of the human spirit to overcome a life-changing medical challenge and then take control of “their second life” made possible by a medical device.
A global program launched in 2013, the Bakken Invitational was named for Medtronic co-founder, Earl Bakken, who developed the first external, battery-powered, wearable pacemaker, an invention that has saved millions of lives and shaped the modern medical device industry.
It’s from incredibly giving individuals like the Bakken honorees, that people just like our family have touched from the giving spirit of others. From the college scholarships I received to get me through college or my son’s wish to go to Disney World by an organization that grants wishes for children with life-threatening conditions, our lives have forever been changed for the better because gave.
Photo credit: TR Photography
Have you been given an extra life and are living with a medical device or using medical technology?
Share it here and Medtronic Foundation will donate $10 to Project HOPE to help ensure that medical technology is available in underserved communities around the world.
One of the honoree’s stories that really touched me was that of Tanya Hall. Like my son, Tanya was born with a hole in her heart and a heart murmur. At 9 she had open heart surgery and then at 21, she was diagnosed with a number of heart arrhythmias requiring her to get a pacemaker. While she may have had the medical support she needed, she found herself frustrated with the lack of cardiac patient support groups in Australia and at a loss for how she would spend the rest of her life, so she founded hearts4heart.
Knowing first-hand the need for finding support for heart issues when my son was born, the story was even more touching as she also was the patient. So to carry on the work of educating, creating awareness of heart diseases, and to continue to provide support to others, goes to show the huge measure of her character and the real size of Tanya’s heart.
[Tweet “”Life isn’t about what you got, but what you gave.” @mamachallenge #LiveOnGiveOn AD “]
looking at her story, any of the other honoree’s stories or even mine, it’s clear that medical technology can dramatically improve the life of one person. The Bakken Invitation Award Honorees demonstrate that it can have social impact that reaches beyond just that person.
Are you ready to make a difference?
Which Bakken honoree inspires you?
Share your choice by commenting below and you could win a $100 VISA gift card to do some good in your community. (Valid only for U.S. citizens, 18 years and older. Winner will be selected on March 18, 2016.)
For continued inspiration connect with Medtronic Foundation on Twitter and the Bakken Invitational on Facebook.
