Hi there, I’m Leilani Graham.
I’m a writer and healthcare consultant based in California.
Having survived four cardiac arrests and a complicated heart transplant, I decided that the best way to make use of my traumatic experiences was to share them. Maybe if I made myself more open and vulnerable, others going through similar trying times would feel a little less alone. That, and play some small part in fixing our disastrous healthcare system, particularly organ transplantation.
In line with those goals, I have consulted for Medtronic, Verily Life Sciences, PCORI, End Well, Myokardia (now part of Bristol Myers Squibb), The American Heart Association, Stanford Medicine, Patients Rising, and various non-profit organizations such as The Transplant Life Foundation, Organ.ize, Reps. Katie Porter (D-CA), Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), and Cori Bush (D-MO). Before this, I was a strategist at Google and Head of Patient Advocacy at Clara Health.
I am currently training to become a Child Life Specialist at UCSF and earning a Master’s in Practical Ethics at Oxford University.
I'm a 4x cardiac arrest and 4x open-heart surgery survivor, ECMO survivor former ICD-owner, Heart Transplant Recipient, and current Pacemaker-user.
How's that for a mouthful.
I was honored to be a featured patient story in Euan Angus Ashley’s recently published The Genome Odyssey: Medical Mysteries and the Incredible Quest to Solve Them, published Feb. 23, 2021, by Celadon Books. I have also been a guest star on multiple podcasts, including Terrible, Thanks for Asking.
You can follow my work at @leilanirgraham on all major platforms or by subscribing to my very infrequent (promise-its-not-annoying) newsletter here.
To work with me hit the big button below.
