Sarah Boes on Healthy Habits with Dori DeCarlo on WoMRadio

0:00 She is sure, she is sure, she is strong, she is true, is true, she is brave, she is she is you. She is you, she is you, she. Is sure, she is true, she is strong, she is straw, she is true, is true, she is brave, Bray, she is she is you. Hello, everyone, welcome to today's Word of Mom Radio. Here on the Word of Mom Media Network. I'm your host, Dory d Carlo. And you know we are here a week after week, show after show breaking those myths that morepreneurs and business women, especially those of us building our businesses from home, they were just dabbling in between bake sales and getting our nails done.

0:44 We're not. We are smart, we are savvy, and we are sharing the wisdom of women in business and in life. And I'm very honored to be bringing today's guest into our Healthy Habits show. Sarah Michelle Bows She has a lot of letters after her name, the founder of Sarah Michelle NP Reviews and currently serves as the Chief nursing Officer at Newprint Test Prep. With a robust educational background including a BSM from the University of Kentucky and an MS and a nursing education from Western Governor's University. Sarah has an extensive experience in oncology, intensive care, and nursing education, and in twenty twenty, she launched MSNP Reviews, an innovative platform that rapidly grewing a seven figure business within seven months.

1:35 Her entrepreneurial journey began, and it's deeply intertwined with her personal life. Her daughter, Meadow, was born with severe heart defects and has required extensive medical care, inspiring Sarah's commitment to pediatric cardiac research and care. In recognition of Meadow's journey, Sarah and her husband are making a fifteen million dollar legacy donation to Norton Hilton's Hospital, where the new Congenital Heart Center will be named in their honor. This contribution underscores their dedication to improving health care for children with congenital heart conditions, and with significant social media following and notable media features, Sarah continues to influence the health care and entrepreneurial communities, and she aims to further her impact through philanthropy focusing on congenital heart disease and mental health advocacy, while supporting ongoing advancements in pediatric health care and I can share so much more about Sarah's background, but I really want to bring her in so she can share her journey. So Sarah, Welcome to Word of mom Radium.

2:45 Thank you so much for having me on. So appreciate you having me too. It's my pleasure and my honor, and I would really love for you to take us on this remarkable journey that you have been on. Yeah, I feel like I kind of lived before and after a point in my life in the last five years. I was really fortunate that during COVID was when I graduated Nurse Practitioner school, which did not feel fortunate at all in betime me because my job got delayed all the things. And so COVID hit in, you know obviously March or twenty twenty, and I was slated to take my Nurse Practitioner Board exam in May of that year, and there was all this chaos of how are people going to even be able to do review courses because they used to all be in person at conference centers, and would I even be able to take my exam because the testing centers are clubs because it's COVID, And so what ended up happening was I had my board exam rescheduled five different times, like I would literally show up to a testing center to take this big hogh stakes exam if I felt like determined the rest of my life, and there would just be a sign on the.

3:52 Door and be like, oh, we're closed, like we could it online sort of thing. So there was a lot of anticipation and anxiety and all of the big feelings about taking this exam and what that might look like and would my job still be there because you know, it's COVID, and everything was a. Little bit bizarre and crazy. But finally, at the end of May and twenty twenty, I was able to take my exam, and I felt so silly after I did, because I had spent months preparing it, had so much anxiety. I had literally. Broken a tooth grinding my teeth, and then I know it was wild, but I ended up taking one hundred and seventy five question exam in less than an hour because it was just that straightforward. It was. I'm not saying it was easy by any means, but I had well prepared and I had definitely over prepared, and so when I was seeing in the parking lot waiting for my friend because she came to take it with me, which was really fun. It was the first time I got to meet in person. We went to take our exams together. We met online through our program. I was seen outside I was waiting for her, and I was like, Wow, I wish there had just been a review course that I would have built up like my own confidence in myself, because I firmly believe like, if you can graduate nurse pectitionary school, you can absolutely pass the exam, like you have all the knowledge that you need, but what you really need is the confidence and really just validation in yourself.

5:15 And so that was what sparked the idea for my business. Less than a week later, I put out a three hour review course. It was just zoom recordings and people paid me through Facebook Messenger, and I thought, if this pace for my dental work, it'll be worth it. But the first day that I went to sell this course, I made one thousand dollars in a day, And that was a really big moment for me in my life because oftentimes as a nurse, I didn't make a thousand dollars in a week. Sometimes I didn't make a thousand dollars in two weeks after taxes, and so I just broke my brain in the best way possible about what was possible, because back then my big dream was was like, oh my goodness, we have I made one thousand dollars every day. That would, gosh, I don't know, multiply my income by eight times. So those just really why to think about having that nurse practitioner background, having the nursing education background that I did. I built this really cool, fascinating business really fast that was focused completely on mental health.

6:13 So you could go to any review course out there and get the content, but mine really had the mental health and the confidence pieces that people were looking for, especially in a time like COVID where everybody's mental health was a little bit more rocky. And so I tell you all this background to say that starting my business, the creation of my business, and then selling my business right at a two year mark. We went through an acquisition in June and twenty twenty two. That was all the before and then after I sold just three weeks later. So three weeks after the acquisition, I found out, at thirty six weeks pregnant that my daughter was. Going to have four different heart defects and. So I thought I had a totally normal, healthy baby, and then I found out just a couple of weeks before birth, she is not normal in any capacity, and we are going to start her life like, literally, in her first week of life, she.

7:06 Will have her first heart surgery. She's going to have another one by the time she's a year old, and she's going to have at least four more in her life. So everything that came after that moment, my life has been totally different. My passions have changed, my life has changed, my focus has changed, but really in all the best ways, because I feel like I'm in this incredibly unique position to spread awareness about congeneral heart disease, having the medical background that I do, but I also have had this really incredible entrepreneurial journey that makes it so much easier to do that through like my philanthropy efforts and those sorts of things. The last five years of my life have been I feel like I've lived five life times in those five years.

7:46 But it's been incredible to be able to do work in this space and really spread awareness. Because if people hear nothing else from this episode, the thing I always want them to hear is that our defects worldwide are the most common vers defect, but they're also one of the least funded. And the only way that we can change that is through awareness, because awareness is what leads the funding. Funding is what leads to research, and hopefully that's what leads to a different future. From my daughter too. It's remarkable to me how you have taken something such a devastating diagnosis and things like that and turned it into something that is helping other people and for you, how did you deal with the anxiety and everything else as a parent, especially coming from the medical background, because you have so much more awareness than the average person dealing with this.

8:41 To be completely transparent, it was incredibly difficult. And I feel like for the first six months of her life, because she had sick surgeries by sometimes she was five months old, I never, I don't want to say I didn't feel like her mom, but I definitely felt like her medical provider. More like I felt like, even in a little bit of time that she was able to be home between surgeries, like I felt like her nurs practitioner. All the time. She literally was hooked up to. An oxygen monitor in our living room and we had a scale that we had to weigh every day and report in and all these things, and so we had all this objective data that we were looking at all the time, and I, just being a first time parent, almost couldn't figure out how to turn my mom's brain on.

9:22 But was really lucky that when she made it through the bulk of her surgeries, we came home and I just I told my husband, I was like, I feel so depleted, Like we have spent the last five to six months just trying to survive. Day in and day out, and now Meadow is okay. And because she's okay, I really got to figure out what's going on with me and my brain. And so it was just one week after we came home, I actually found out that I have obsessive compulsive disorder, which in the time it sounded really scary because it wasn't something I unders stood. I think there's a lot of misconceptions about OCD and like it's just hand washing and that's just one theme of OCD, and there are hundreds of themes. And for me, a lot of my themes were revolved around if I wasn't hyper responsible for metal all the time, like would she survived like we came home and I couldn't sleep because I would constantly get up, like is she breathing? And people were like, oh, like that's pretty common postpart and behavior. And I just don't think that you necessarily understand how frequently I was getting up, how I was checking her, Like I might put my hand on her and fill her brief five times and be like okay, like I'm good, and lay back down, But then fifteen minutes later I would get back up and do it again, and five times wasn't enough anymore.

10:43 I'm now going to fill ten times. And so it's just this insatiable cycle with OCD. So getting the care that I needed for that disorder, which is still a disorder I have. By the way, there's phrase I really like. I am not recovered. I'm forever recovering from OCD. So even though I'm not having symptoms today, that doesn't mean it couldn't come back tomorrow. And that's okay. But taking that mental health journey and really taking that time for myself, even though it felt hard, was incredibly important to my sanity and just honestly me moving forward as a human. Too in this journey and bringing awareness what can moms do because again, the mental challenges that you go through when your child has medical issues, especially in today's climate.

11:30 I'm watching friends of mine whose daughter has a bunch of genetic disorders. They just found out she's wheelchairs found heavy. Oh and after multiple multiple operations on her way and you know what, as soon as they thought that little girl whole wheelchair, she was off like a shot. And I love it. Finally keep up with her big brother and her little brother, and that's all she cared about. And so it's really us as the adults of putting away those preconceived notions and morning the child you thought you were going to have and dealing with the child that you do have. And how do you hope moms overcome this because it is such a huge challenge.

12:13 Yeah, I think the reality versus expectations piece is huge, and that's something I really had to grapple with in my own way because there was so much hope that if Meadow could survive her heart surgeries, that she would be a quote unquote normal child, like she's never totally normal, right, but that she could have a really hot quality of life, and that really pivoted after her big full repairs what they call it. So they went in to fix her four defects, and we found out afterwards that she had had a brain bleed, and because she was four months old when she had this surgery, there was no way to know how that brain bleed was going to affect her, Like, we just had to live that out with her and see what that looked like. And that's so much uncertainty with which is really where a lot of like my OCD therapy came into play, because at the end of the day, OCD is an intolerance is uncertainty. So a lot of it is just like sitting with your worst fears and realizing that you're not going to die and things are going to be okay. But that being said, I always tell people that the antidote to anxiety is action, and so you really want to take action in some way, and I think the easiest way to do that as a medical parent is to educate yourself, because at the end of the day, like you are going to be the best advocate for your child because you know their nuances and you know their little things here and there, and sometimes it might seem silly or trivial, but like those little nuances can make all of the difference, because

13:45 even being in the hospital of a four month old baby, I could be like, this is what she was like before, this is what she's like now, and be able to put those pieces together. And so I think ultimately what I'm saying is just educating yourself and putting yourself in the best position possible to be an advocate, because when you become a medical parent, you're going to be an advocate, whether you like it or not, and so you might as well set yourself up for success, and in the process of that, you're really going to also take care of your own mental health. Of that note, please think of what Sarah just said. We're going to take a quick break. We're going to say thank you to our sponsors, and we'll be back here in just a moment. On Word of Mom Radio. She is brave, she is bold, She is you, and we want to tell your story. Are you ready to share your journey with us on Word of Mom Radio.

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15:40 And we're back here on Word of Mom Radio. We're talking with Sarah Bowse about this remarkable journey that you really are on. It really is amazing to me. And again, so often as a parent of a child that has any kind of special needs medically, you feel like you're all by yourself, feel like there's anybody out there that can understand you, feel like there's so much noise out there because everybody's got something to say and for you, what resources and things like that that helped you. Where can moms and parents fine these resources to help with their mental health, because, let's face it, you are your child's best advocate. You are the person who's going to be fighting those battles for your kids. And it is weary, It is mentally taxing, it is emotionally stunting at times, and can affect your marriage and everything else if you don't have a spouse that is on the same page and things so weird, can I go?

16:43 I think the easiest place to start is connecting with other humans that are going through the same experience alongside you. And so we didn't really do that with my daughter's first set of surgeries because we were just like in and out of the hospital kind of quick, honestly. But her second set of surgeries, it did not go so well, and she had much of surgeries back to back and we spent a couple of months in the hospital. We started to make connections with other parents there because it didn't necessarily matter if their child had the same diagnosis or not. They can fully like see us as we were, and we could see them as they were because we were living a simultaneous experience being in the hospital day in and day out, which is so draining and so dreary.

17:26 Once we got out of the hospital, I found a lot of just online support groups because sometimes it's just nice to talk to human in general, even if you can't see them in person, have that like real human to human connections. And that was how it started to get involved in a couple of different nonprofit organizations as well, because what I was searching to do is to better educate myself for my daughter's future, and so how can I do that? And a lot of these nonprofits will, you know, just educate you about different statistics, Like that was how I learned that our defects are the most common defect but they're one of the least funded. For a statistic that will stay with me forever and ever, that congenital heart disease is sixty times more prevalent than pediatric cancer but only gets a fifth of the funding.

18:10 And there's absolutely no slight the pediatric cancer. It deserves its funding, but congenital heart disease deserves funding too. And so I really have been able to pivot a lot, I feel like my grief into this advocacy work and hoping for a better future. And I think that as well, really keeps me moving every day. How did you get involved with Norton's Children's Hospital and that whole medical community there. So as soon as. We got Meadows diagnosis when I was thirty six weeks pregnant, we immediately got the connection to Norton because I thought that we were going to have to travel far and why to find this cardiac care.

18:51 But we actually have a really solid. Cardiac center right here at home, just twenty five minutes from our house, which I am forever grateful four because it is such a relief when you're having a really tough day in the hospital to be able to come home and regroup and return and just have like your normal space and not go to a hotel room. But that being said, we've gotten all. Of Meadows Cardiac Care and Norton Children's and so pretty much from the second we left the hospital. So when we did the acquisition, we went ahead and said some money that we knew we wanted to donate someday somehow, but we didn't know where exactly that was going to go. We just knew it was something we wanted to do and we felt really called to do. And as soon as we left the hospital, I told my husband, this is the place that we need to be donating to, Like, not only did they just save our daughter's life and like that was an incredible experience, but also all of the families that we met and all the stories that we heard and those people that really need support, because I just can't tell you how important it was and how much it just like saved me and my own mental health that me and my husband were able to be there together in the hospital and we didn't have to worry about like when do we go back to work and how do we pay for this? And we had that flexibility. But there are very few people out there that go through an acquisition are able to have that flexibility. So how can we better support those families?

20:16 And so initially I was just like, hear, will you please take my money? I want to donate this to you, and they were like, no, let's do something cool with it, like you if you want to donate a significant amount of money, which was how they ended up coming up with the idea to name the Norton Children's Congenital Heart Institute after my daughter, which was really beautiful and really cool. What kind of support does this fifteen million dollar legacy donation give to these parents and these families and kids. There's a lot of layers there, so we just wanted to just give a testament to how much we love Norton and how much other people should have their eye on Norton because they are building a true car program and it's not to say they don't have one today, but they are doing really innovative, creative things that they're not doing all the way across the country, and so we wanted to show our support of that. But also alongside that support, we did want to be able to impact families, and we did want to contribute to like the pediatric support team and those sorts of things, and the resources that are available, both mental health but even just like food resources That sounds trivial, but like having in a stock kitchen, it is important for families that aren't able to make it in and out, like children are too sick, those sorts of things, and so there are lots of little pieces that come together. But really we just wanted to support the research too, because research is not only what's going to change my daughter's life, but it's going to change the life of children just

21:48 like her too. It's amazing to me that congenital heart diseases. Yeah, it's crazy. Let's face a cancer. It's just the world. People don't understand congenital heart defects. They don't understand the different degrees that you know, you can have something very slight, you can have something catastrong, massive, yeah, and everything in between. They just hear the word cancer and it's like, oh, so, yeah, I'm glad you are. It's important to raise awareness and it's part of what we are so called to do here on Word of Mom Radio because again, they're not going to be moms that are listening to this kind of like oh my gosh, I didn't know somebody else's kid and I hadn't heard about this hospital and things like that. So, you know, again, we need to know that we're not alone. You need to know that there are resources out there. There are you know, support groups out there, there's you know, that's the wonderful thing about the online community more is that you can find places to talk to people that are going so easy exactly what you're going through, that know what it is to be dealing with this and then having to come home to the other kids and the rest of your family and the rest of your life that you have to find a way to compartmentalize into all of this, you know.

23:05 So as we're wrapping things upsair, what do you want to leave the moms out there with that are listening to this and how may they reach out to you. I always like to say that your child is not their diagnosis. I like to leave people with that, especially you know, if you are a medical parent, having that diagnosis can be so all consuming that you feel like your child is a heart defect and like that is their identity, and. It is not. I have a very beautiful, curious, joyful two and a half year old that runs through my house all day long, and she is not her heart defect. That it's just a part of her. But I would also like to leave people with the fact that at the end of this week, I'm starting my Women of Impact campaign through the American Heart Association. And so what that campaign is about, or at least for me, is putting a spotlight and shining a light on digital heart disease and bringing more awareness because, as we've talked about through this whole episode, awareness is how we're going to change everything for these children, and it was literally just forty to fifty years ago, the metal set of surgeries did not exist, and they would have put her in my arms to die upon birth.

24:15 And so I think about that a lot because there's so much change that can happen in the next forty to fifty years. So what I'm doing through this campaign, it's a fund raising campaign, and I'm just asking people to donate twenty dollars. Twenty dollars can actually make a world of difference, especially considering the amount of outreach and people that I'm able to be connected with through all the different communities and all the things the Facebook groups, social media, et cetera. And so if people feel called to donate even just twenty dollars, it would literally change the lives of children that have digital heart disease moving forward. That link is going to be up here on Word of Mom radio and do you have a website, Sarah, I do.

24:56 Is Sarah Michelle Bo's dot com and Bo's is spelled beas boy o es. All of those links are going to be live, and I really encourage you to reach out. Please do. I love human human connection, And I'm not just saying that, like I genuinely do, especially on my Instagram that's Sarah Michelle mp MP as a nurse practitioner. There's nobody that replies to those messages. It's up for me, like it is my personal account and something that I love to connect with people on. Well. Again, all of Sarah's links are going to be live, and I really encourage you reach out, reach out, and I know there are fundraising things going on every day.

25:38 Everybody's asking for money all the time. But you know what, if you feel compelled and you can do it, just do it. You know, don't don't have coffee for a week, make your own at home and there you go. There's a quick way to do it. So, really, Sarah, thank you so much for coming and sharing your journey. Please give meadow hug from me. That's a very easy asking. Really, you know, tell her to just get out there and be feisty. Thanks. I can tell she's got you for a mommy. How could she not be feisty? Sweet? Thank you? No, really, honestly, how could she not be hmm? So my mom part just got you guys know me, every once in a while, somebody hits it can't help it goes, so for all of you tuning in. I thank you so much for taking the time to share time with us. Today.

26:32 We're going to close out with our a fabulous theme song from Smith's Sisters and the Sunday Drivers. So till next time, This is Dory de Carlos saying, go out and create a marvelous youth. Bye for now. She is sure, she is sure, she is strang is straw, she is true, is true, she is brave, she is you, you you, She is sure, she is sure, she is strong, she is strong, she is true, she is true, she is brave, she is bold, she is she is you, is you, she is you? Sure of herself? Yees, she takes care of his powerful and strong. Yes, she knows who she is, has integrity, woman, strong and true.

27:22 You know her by name. See this woman is you. She is sure, she is strong, he is strong, she is true, is true, she is brave, she is bold, she is she is you, she is she is she is sure, she is strong, is strong, she is true, is true, she is brave, she is bold, she is she is you, she is she is She adds value and hope, has proved to be brave. See it's never too late, never time to behave. Reaching for dreams doesn't matter. The age believes in herself, unleashed from her cage. She is sure, she is sure, she is strong, is strong, she is true, is true, she is brave, bray, she is she is you. She is she is, she is sure, she is she is strong, she is strong, she is true, is true, she is brave, is brave, she is she is, she is you,