Soft Pajamas, Strong Mission: Cindy Mutti’s Journey From Survival to Service

Cindy Mutti’s journey to Just Because Love Does began in a hospital bed, waking to an unexpected tracheotomy after a life-altering motorcycle accident. Alone, in pain, and surrounded by machines, she asked God, “What am I supposed to be learning from this?”

It was in that quiet, vulnerable space that she discovered healing isn’t just physical, it’s emotional, spiritual, and deeply tied to dignity. Clinging to one small comfort, soft, familiar pajamas, sparked an idea: clothing that cares for the whole person, even in the hardest moments.

From surviving trauma to creating medically adaptive loungewear rooted in compassion, Mutti transformed her pain into a mission: helping others feel seen, valued, and loved, just because love does.

Check out her interview below. 

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Your story begins long before the brand. When you think back to those hospital rooms and ICU days, what moment stands out as the one that quietly changed everything for you?

Cindy Mutti: My journey to this work was shaped by lived experience. After surviving a serious motorcycle accident and later undergoing multiple surgeries for a life-threatening tracheal condition, I spent long stretches in the hospital learning what healing truly requires. 

After being sent home for three days, I was rushed back for emergency surgery when my trachea developed a leak and air began escaping into my neck. I woke up to find I had an unexpected tracheotomy. It wasn’t part of the plan. I remember lying there in the dark, listening to the Bible on audio and praying. I was angry. I didn’t understand why everything had gone so sideways. I kept asking God, “What am I supposed to be learning from this?” 

It was in that raw, vulnerable space that the idea was placed on my heart to create pajamas that didn’t just address medical needs, but the emotional and mental weight of healing. I realized healing isn’t only physical. It’s spiritual. It’s psychological. It’s emotional. 

During that time, the one sense of normalcy and dignity I clung to was wearing my own comfortable pajamas. That became the foundation, medically adaptive loungewear designed for clinical realities, but created to care for the whole person. That calling ultimately led me to step away from my healthcare IT executive career and build a mission centered on comfort, dignity, and love in action. 

You’ve said healing didn’t begin with a diagnosis, but with prayer and stillness. How did faith guide you when medical answers felt uncertain or delayed? 

Cindy: After being told over and over that it was asthma and feeling worse instead of better, I reached a point of real hopelessness. I knew something wasn’t right, but I didn’t know how to push forward anymore. That’s when I turned to prayer, not for a specific answer, but for clarity and peace.

In that quiet space, I felt a nudge to explore a CT scan of my neck, even if it meant paying for it myself. That single step led to the correct diagnosis of tracheal stenosis, a narrowing of my windpipe. For me, faith didn’t replace medicine; it guided me when the answers weren’t coming, helping me trust the next step before the full picture was clear. 

Soft pajamas became unexpectedly meaningful during your recovery. Why do you think comfort, especially something as simple as clothing, plays such a powerful role in helping people feel human again during trauma? 

Cindy: For me, putting on my own pajamas each morning became a small but powerful ritual. It signaled the start of a new day, brought comfort to my body, and helped calm my mind. That sense of normalcy doesn’t erase the trauma, but it grounds you in it, and when the mind feels safer, healing can begin to feel possible. 

Just Because Love Does is a deeply intentional name. What does that phrase mean to you personally, and how has it shaped the way you make decisions as a founder?

Cindy: Just Because Love Does is a deeply intentional name for me. “Just Because” is something my husband and I have always practiced in our relationship; it’s about showing up for each other in small, meaningful ways, just because. 

Love Does by Bob Goff also deeply shaped how I see faith in action. I read it during a season when I was questioning the impact I was truly meant to make, and it reminded me that love isn’t passive; it shows up, takes risks, and does something. 

Together, those ideas inspired the name of my company. What I love most about Love Doesis how practical it is; it’s not about getting everything right, but about consistently choosing to love people in tangible ways. That principle guides how I make decisions as a founder and how I strive to show up in the world every day. 

Many brands talk about purpose, but yours was born from survival. How did you know this vision was meant to be shared beyond your own healing journey? 

Cindy: I knew it was meant to be shared because the vision didn’t come from a place of ambition; it came from one of the darkest points of my healing journey. 

When God placed this on my heart, I wasn’t thinking about building a company. I was trying to survive. I was navigating pain, uncertainty, and vulnerability in ways I never had before. And in that space, the idea wasn’t about business; it was about comfort, dignity, and making the experience gentler for someone else. 

That’s when I realized this wasn’t just for me. If it was born in survival, it was meant to serve others who were surviving too. Sometimes purpose doesn’t arrive when you’re strong. It arrives when you’re broken, and you choose to turn that breaking into something that helps someone else stand. 

Your sleepwear is designed with both beauty and medical functionality in mind, including discreet features like interior drain pockets. Why was it important for you to refuse the idea that medical necessity has to come at the expense of dignity? 

Cindy: Because I’ve been the patient. When you’re navigating medical procedures, drains, IVs, or recovery, so much already feels out of your control. Your body feels unfamiliar. Your routine is disrupted. You’re exposed in ways you never expected to be, nor want to be. 

Clothing may seem small, but it isn’t. I refused the idea that medical necessity has to come at the expense of dignity because dignity becomes even more important during vulnerability. Why should someone have to choose between function and feeling human? 

The interior drain pockets, the soft bamboo fabric, and the thoughtful access points are practical. But they’re also protective. They allow someone to manage medical realities without announcing them to the world. 

You can be healing and still feel beautiful. You can need medical support and still deserve comfort and design that honors you. 

This brand serves not only patients, but caregivers and loved ones who often don’t know how to show up. What do you hope someone feels when they give one of your products to a person they love? 

Cindy: I hope they feel relief. When someone you love is walking through medical trauma or recovery, you often feel helpless. You want to fix it. You want to take the pain away. And most of the time, you can’t. I hope when someone gives one of our pieces, they feel like they’ve found a tangible way to say, “I see you. I care about your comfort. I’m here.” 

It’s more than sleepwear. It’s permission to rest. It’s dignity wrapped in fabric. It’s love made practical. And sometimes, when you don’t know what to say, a thoughtful gift says it for you. 

You’ve chosen to reinvest all net profits back into the mission and give through a 501(c)(3), which goes against traditional business models. What has it been like building a company where compassion, not profit, is the north star? 

Cindy: When God placed this on my heart, it wasn’t about profit. It was about purpose. It absolutely goes against traditional business models, and that’s intentional. 

We believe business can be both sustainable and selfless. By reinvesting net profits and structuring giving into the DNA of the company, we’re redefining what success looks like. Compassion doesn’t weaken a business model. It strengthens trust, loyalty, and long-term impact. When purpose leads, profit follows. 

The global impact element, such as creating jobs for women artisans in Ghana, adds another layer to the brand’s story. Why was it important to you that healing and restoration extend beyond borders? 

Cindy: Healing was never meant to stop at one person. When this vision was placed on my heart, it wasn’t just about patients in hospital rooms —it was about restoration in a broader sense. Creating jobs for women artisans in Ghana reflects that belief. As a Christian, I believe love doesn’t recognize borders. When you love the way Jesus did, compassion isn’t confined to geography, culture, or circumstance.

It reaches outward. If we’re going to build a company centered on dignity and restoration, that has to extend to the people who help create the product as well. Healing shouldn’t just happen on the receiving end —it should be woven into the entire supply chain. 

This Indiegogo campaign marks your first time stepping into the public eye. What emotions come up for you as you share such a personal story so openly for the first time?

Cindy: It feels vulnerable, but it also feels obedient. When God placed this on my heart, I didn’t realize it would require me to share so much of my personal journey. Over time, though, I’ve come to understand that testimony is part of the mission.  

There’s humility in saying, “This is where I’ve been,” and there’s hope in showing that even the hardest chapters can be redeemed. 

This company was born from some of the most difficult moments of my life. Sharing that publicly isn’t easy. But if stepping into the light helps even one person feel seen, understood, or less alone in their own healing, then the vulnerability is worth it. 

Many people see entrepreneurship as hustle-driven and exhausting. How has your experience challenged the idea that building a business has to come at the cost of peace or faith?

Cindy: There’s a narrative that entrepreneurship has to be relentless and draining. I’ve felt that pressure. But I’ve discovered that striving out of fear feels very different from building something rooted in surrender and trust. 

There have been moments when people suggested I soften the language around “God gave me this mission,” out of concern that it might turn some people away. I understand the business reasoning behind that. But for me, this isn’t branding language —it’s truth. 

My goal has never been to build something in my own strength. My goal is to honor Him through this process because I genuinely believe this is His mission. I’m simply the steward of it. 

That perspective changes everything. When you see yourself as the steward rather than the source, the pressure shifts. Peace becomes possible. Decisions are made from conviction, not fear. Growth is important, but obedience matters more. 

Building this company hasn’t been easy, but it hasn’t cost me my faith. If anything, it has deepened it. And I’ve learned that you can pursue excellence in business without sacrificing peace when your identity isn’t tied to the outcome. 

If someone reading this is currently walking through medical trauma, caregiving, or recovery, what do you want them to know, not as a founder, but as someone who’s been there?

Cindy: I would want them to know that what they’re feeling is valid. Medical trauma changes you. Caregiving stretches you. Recovery humbles you. And sometimes the world expects you to “move on” long before your body and heart are ready. I’ve been there. I know what it feels like to sit in uncertainty, to carry fear quietly, to have your body feel unfamiliar. And I also know that healing isn’t linear. Some days are strong. Some days are simply about surviving. 

You are not weak for needing rest. You are not dramatic for feeling overwhelmed. And you are not alone, even if it feels that way. 

Be gentle with yourself. Your body is trying to protect you. Your heart is trying to process something big. Healing takes time, and that’s okay. There is no template and no standard timeline. It unfolds at each individual’s pace.