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Last week, I shared My Story Part 1, which was all about my journey to Creighton and NaProTECHNOLOGY as a patient. In this week’s post, I’ll be sharing my journey to becoming a FertilityCare Practitioner (with a little Christmasy twist as we meditate on Mary, the Mother of our Lord, and her courageous “yes” to bearing the Savior of the World).
After 12 years of weathering the stormy seas of abnormal bleeding, charting my cycles using the Creighton Method and being treated with NaProTECHNOLOGY were true safe havens for me. To have actual diagnoses to name all of the symptoms I had been told were “normal” for so many years made me feel seen, heard, and respected. Being treated in a way that restored my reproductive health was like finally finding the lighthouse after sailing through rough waters; the clouds were beginning to break and the stars were shining through the dark night of my long fertility journey.
Throughout this personal reproductive healing journey of mine, I couldn’t help but think that all women should have access to the type of care that I received; healthcare that upholds the dignity of each person, seeks to find the root cause of reproductive problems, and targets treatment towards truly restoring the health of the whole person. I had to do something to spread this good news.
While getting patient care hours for PA school applications, I decided to get my feet wet in the waters of women’s health instead of sports medicine. I was working as a Patient Care Assistant at a hospital birth center in downtown Grand Rapids when I realized that I absolutely LOVED being in the delivery room, but there was one small problem…PAs don’t often deliver babies. So, after some prayer, discernment, discussions with some of the OBGYNs and L&D Nurses I was working with, and a nudge from a family friend, I applied for Accelerated Nursing Programs instead of PA school. My hope was to become a Labor and Delivery Nurse and a FertilityCare Practitioner.
I still had a lot of fear surrounding the idea of going into women’s health as a Catholic, and I remember voicing these concerns to my family the summer before starting nursing school. I felt like I was a little ship about to set sail into a giant storm on the ocean alone; I’d have to fight to stay above water against the strong wind and the waves of modern OBGYN care. In my prayers, I often asked Mary for her intercession in guiding me to say "yes" to the Lord’s will with the same grace and confidence that she had when she said yes to bringing her son, Jesus, Our Savior, into the world and giving birth to Him so many Christmases ago.
Fast forward a couple months - it was a cold, snowy night in early February. I was snuggled up on the couch in my parent’s living room under their big front window overlooking the starlit sky. I was in my third semester of nursing school, and had just finished my OB clinical. Taking care of moms, babies, and new families gave me so much joy, but I was disheartened by some of the things I saw. Providers were asking patients what form of birth control they wanted postpartum while they were still laboring, performing tubal ligation surgeries, and administering birth control postpartum. Mothers had long histories of “unexplained infertility,” IVF, and abortions. Women deserve so much better. I was working on an assignment with all of this in mind when I had a sudden thought pop into my head, which now I know must have been the Holy Spirit whispering to me. I paused my assignment and googled, “what is the meaning of the name Molly?” To my surprise, Molly means, “sea of bitterness,” or “Star of the Sea.” This is Mary, Star of the Sea (Stella Maris).
I thought back to the fears I had expressed back in the summer, present frustrations with women’s healthcare, and simultaneously pondered the importance of naming. I thought, “oh my gosh, Stella Maris is Mary, Star of the (Stormy) Sea, and I am named after her. Maybe the Lord really is calling me to be a little star - a lighthouse for women - amidst the stormy sea of women’s health.” At that moment, a shooting star exploded into my view and lit up the night sky. If that’s not consolation, I don’t know what is.
The Lord was affirming that I was right where I needed to be; He was indeed calling me to be a light amidst the powerful wind and waves of standard women’s healthcare, guiding women to healing and wholeness through restorative reproductive medicine. This assurance gave me renewed hope in my mission to serve women and families, and the strength to finish nursing school strong, and enter into the workfield as an OB Nurse. Shortly after, I went on to complete my Creighton Education and Supervised Practicum, and then began my work as an FCP! As a result, I am here writing to you today working with the most wonderful, intelligent, faithful, and genuine group of FCPs here at Groesbeck FertilityCare Center.
I hope we can all be beacons of light in your reproductive health journey. Stella Maris, patron saint of seafarers, pray for us as we navigate the stormy seas of our lives! Mary, Mother of God, wrap us in your holy mantle and pray for us during this Christmas season!
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