It did not take me long as a young girl to realize that medicine was my calling - I have photos in a doctor's coat & a stethoscope as early as 5 years old. But over the years, it took me becoming a mother, a patient, and a physician to realize the magnitude of what good care in a rural community can do. 

I have always carried a passion for rural medicine, I truly think that growing up in a small business, forestry family will inevitably gift you that drive. Throughout my college and medical school training, I consistently gravitated towards community doctors who provided superior care to their patients despite limited resources. I found myself intrigued by innovators who were willing to challenge the status quo to provide the care they knew their patient's needed. 

During my medical school training I started gravitating towards direct care, I could see it filling voids in areas that mainstream medicine was unable. As a resident I remained intrigued, but not yet willing to make the change. That was, not until I had my son Soren. 

I am blessed to be the mother of a handsome and healthy toddler - but his start to life and my introduction to parenthood was nothing short of a rollercoaster. We found out unexpectedly at birth that Soren has an extremely rare and complex form of spina bifida which was coupled with a congenital foot abnormality. Within weeks of meeting him, we were told that he would require multiple surgeries and would likely never walk. I spent the first months of motherhood attempting to coordinate medical care for my son and grapple with a life-altering diagnosis. It was isolating to say the least, I found myself longing for guidance, even though I was a medical provider myself. My local community gathered around my family and prayed us through the most challenging moments we had ever experienced. This completely solidified the power of community for me. Soren underwent surgery and is now a walking miracle, literally. 

This experience propelled me into a wholehearted pursuit of providing more complete and supportive medicine for children, parents, young families, and communities, just as my community came alongside me and lifted me up in my time of need.