Board Member, Donald, has been a supporter of both his wife and the cardiac community.

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Donald’s personal reason for being one of the founding board members of the Ironheart Foundation is to raise awareness of heart defects so that they can be caught for others before it is too late—his wife Ellen only had weeks to live and her congenital heart defect was caught only by chance.

Donald did not even know what congenital meant, let alone the fact that you should get your heart checked regularly. He is a runner and has completed 10 marathons along with many other races and has always been fit so, like Ellen, took his health for granted.

After Ellen recovered, he had time to realize how lucky they had been and wanted to do something to improve other people’s chances of survival and find ways to help them through experience of facing heart surgery.

Donald helped Ellen and Dave to form the Ironheart Foundation in 2012. Over the years, Donald has been involved with the Foundation in numerous ways from acting as the Foundation’s Secretary, to helping with race organization. Donald has spent the last four years producing the documentary HEART: Flatline to Finish Line with the goal of raising awareness for living a heart healthy lifestyle.

Like Ellen he has raced in triathlons but does not hold the goal of completing IRONMAN; he is delighted to cheer on members of Ironheart Racing doing just that!

– Donald Bowman, Las Vegas, NV