Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: This is the All1Nerds podcast, where we are bridging the gap between the stethoscope and the soul and getting back to the human side of healthcare.
[00:00:15] Speaker B: Powered by Riverside.
[00:00:33] Speaker A: Welcome to the All One Nurse Podcast, where mentorship meets mission and every story is a step toward healing.
I'm your host, Chanel Tompkins, and today's episode is one that speaks directly to the heart of maternal health, maternal advocacy and nursing resilience. As we continue through National Immunization Awareness Month this month of August, we also shine a light on a sobering truth. In the United States, black women face a maternal mortality rate of 50.3 deaths per 100,000 live births, more than three times that of white women, according to the CDC. Now, these numbers aren't just statistics, they're stories, and today we're going to honor them. Our guests are Rachelle Dumas, who is an rn, is a fierce advocate for maternal health and the founder of A Light After Nine, which is a nonprofit born from her own journey through nine pregnancy losses. Yes, nine pregnancy losses. Her story is one of faith, perseverance and purpose. Her voice is a beacon for women navigating the complexities of the healthcare system. And today we're going to lean into this conversation with I want you to lean into this conversation with compassion, advocacy, and the belief that every nurse has the power to change lives, starting with their own. So this topic may be sensitive. So I encourage you to either save this episode for later if it's too soon, or skip ahead as you listen. Our intention is not to rehash trauma, but to facilitate healing and understanding for all listeners. One thing I've learned personally is that I am not alone in my own experiences with pregnancy losses. Now I'm so honored to introduce my amazing guest speaker. Because of her own personal journey of loss and ultimately, resilience, and after enduring nine pregnancy losses, she transformed her grief into a mission of support and empowerment for families facing fertility challenges and pregnancy loss. And her nursing experience have positioned her to lead with both professional expertise and compassionate insight, reshaping how maternal care is delivered in times of deep personal crisis. In addition to her nonprofit work, A Light After Nine, Rachelle is a passionate public speaker advocate for equitable healthcare, and she's shared so much on platforms like under the Sisterhood Podcast, Dear Nicu Mama Podcast, Nurse Rosa's Insights, and Modern Nursing.
And also, she's been on Capitol Hill, like literally went to Capitol Hill.
And her story transcends personal healing and calls for a systemic shift in the way that maternal health is approached especially for underserved communities and women of color. Through her advocacy, she challenges the conventional healthcare system to prioritize both mental and physical well being, ensuring that no family's struggle goes unnoticed. So whether you're a healthcare provider, a student, or a patient, this episode is for you and definitely for our women who have experienced their own woes with pregnancy and childbearing. Now, please do not hesitate to subscribe and share this episode with others. And be sure to stick around until the end of the episode so that you can find out what Rachelle is up to, how to connect with her, and what's to come on the podcast. And if you're a nursing student or new nurse seeking mentorship, I invite you to stick around so that you can learn more about my 10 week mentorship program, which is designed to build clinical confidence, academic success, and spiritual resilience.
So let's dive right into it. Hey Rachelle, how are you doing?
[00:05:00] Speaker B: Good, how are you?
[00:05:01] Speaker A: I'm doing good. It's so good to have you on the All One Nurse podcast.
[00:05:05] Speaker B: Thank you for having me. I'm so, I'm excited to be here.
[00:05:08] Speaker A: Yes, ma'.
[00:05:09] Speaker B: Am.
[00:05:09] Speaker A: Now, I must say, tell us about you. Tell me about your nursing journey.
[00:05:14] Speaker B: Yeah, so I have a pretty unique nursing journey, I would say. I started as a nurse extern in nursing school and before that I was a patient care technician. After I did my first class in nursing school, I was eligible and I started at a level one trauma center here in Atlanta, which I love, a teaching hospital. I mean you see everything. You see everything. And I was in neuro icu. Once I became a nurse, I went to surgical trauma ice. I would wake up, look at the news and that would be my patients for the day. So it was that, that type of icu, you know, we saw everything. Shortly after I started being a nurse, I went back to school for my graduate degree and like maybe a few months and I originally went for nurse educator and that took a change. I ended up pivoting after that because a lot happened. Personally, I started my pregnancy journey at the same time. I clearly lost my mind doing all this at the same time, but here we are.
But I started my pregnancy journey and that was anything but cookie cutter and it took me years to have a baby. During that time I got into nurse informatics and will pursue my master's in that. During that time I also wanted an array of experience.
So I did education, I did or pre op, post op, I did a little mass surge icu. Step down. I Mean, I done so much. I did anything but mother, baby and maternal health, which is ironic because I intentionally stayed away from that specialty because I didn't feel like it was for me at all, which my pregnancy journey will teach me otherwise. But I started my master's shortly after, and it took me eight years and three months to finish that degree because of my pregnancy and health journey during that time.
[00:07:05] Speaker A: Is this the masters for the informatics or.
[00:07:07] Speaker B: Yep, the Masters in Nursing Informatics that I just finished in April of 2025.
[00:07:12] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:07:12] Speaker B: And, yeah, I finally finished despite of all the healthcare, the health issues that I had, but I finally finished.
[00:07:19] Speaker A: Awesome. That. Well, congratulations, first and foremost.
[00:07:22] Speaker B: Thank you. Thank you so much.
[00:07:24] Speaker A: And I think that's encouragement for anyone to just keep going.
[00:07:29] Speaker B: Yeah. Just to keep going. Don't let any adversity stop you from, you know, getting your degrees or obtaining any goals that you have.
[00:07:38] Speaker A: Focus on those challenges which in your.
In your experiences came your nonprofit, A Light After Nine. So tell us a little bit about that.
[00:07:49] Speaker B: Yeah. So my other baby, A Light After Nine, was birthed out of pain. That turned into purpose. Like I said during my graduate school career, I started my pregnancy journey, and I had nine losses throughout that time. And honestly didn't know if I would ever have a baby that I would take home and be able to be a parent and raise. I said a parent because I truly believe you. All the stuff that I did during that pregnancy journey, I earned Mother as a title. I earned it. I was flying across different states to have surgeries to keep babies. It was just a lot. And I was told that after my first miscarriage that I would easily go on and have a baby. I was young, and that was anything but true. And I went on to have twins the second pregnancy. And I was. Yeah, I was in and out of the hospital with excruciating pain, bleeding, all these things. I kept being sent home, tried to advocate for myself, and I lost the first baby. And then my symptoms went away, and I was told that, oh, you're fine. You'll have this baby. And then I wake up one day, wet, and then I go to the bathroom and the baby falls out.
[00:08:54] Speaker A: Oh, my God. You were at home.
[00:08:56] Speaker B: I was at home on, literally with a house full of people for my gender reveal.
So luckily, my support system was there and easily accessible. But it was a very traumatic loss, Very traumatic loss. And I was diagnosed with cervical insufficiency, which, like I told you earlier, I was avoiding maternal care. I didn't know anything about all these diagnosis and treatments and surgeries and medications in this specialty. So while I could save a life very, very easily, from my experience, it was hard to advocate because I didn't have the education to do so. So I was very reliant on my healthcare providers, which a lot of times was a fight to get them to even believe me when I told them my symptoms were my symptoms, which led to nine losses. So I got the surgery that I needed around my, around my cervix to keep a baby in. And I was told that I'll have a baby then and that failed. And that doctor who put it in casually at 20 weeks told me to go give birth because it fell and there was nothing that could be done.
And I said no, you know, this is as long as I have been pregnant. This was like my sixth pregnancy.
[00:10:06] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:10:06] Speaker B: And I'm like, I have to fight for this baby. We're, you know, 20 weeks. I can't just let go that easy.
[00:10:12] Speaker A: Right?
[00:10:12] Speaker B: So I asked her to redo the sarclage and she said no. She said, that's not the center of care. So I'm not doing it. You can go and give birth very casually, very casually. So I gathered my village and everybody I knew, our co workers, anybody I could think of, and we found a doctor in Texas who was known for flying patients out and doing high risk surgeries like that. He had even saved twins at 20 weeks. So I was like, that one baby?
[00:10:39] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:10:40] Speaker B: Can you do one? One miracle for me? Yeah. So I flew out like that night and he rolled out the red carpet. I have never been cared for in the healthcare setting like I was there. And he did the surgery. But that three hour surgery took eight hours because as you can imagine, I was on a plane. I was already dropping like my baby was already dropping. It was just a lot. And he had to push the baby back in. And while the surgery was successful, I did, after anesthesia wore off, start to go into labor. And they gave me so many medicines, tocolytics as we call it, to stop contractions. But I was in labor for 30 hours and then my water broke and I had to deliver that baby.
The kindness that I was shown by that surgeon, he told me prior to that surgery that he would bring me back out, no cost, and perform that surgery if that was to happen. And sure enough, later that year, he brought me back out, did the surgery, everything went well while I wasn't pregnant. And then I went on to have my baby in 2022, who is now a pot belly 2 year old running around here.
[00:11:44] Speaker A: Oh, my God. Yes.
[00:11:48] Speaker B: But it took nine.
[00:11:50] Speaker A: Rachelle, I don't think anybody's ready to hear your story.
[00:11:54] Speaker B: It's hard to tell, though. So hopefully it inspires somebody to keep going or to start or to advocate for themselves or to not listen to the people who saying, you should stop, you know?
[00:12:08] Speaker A: Yeah.
Yeah. So at what moment did you feel like someone else deserves to be treated the way I was treated by this provider, this physician, this surgeon? Like, do you feel like that was the pivotal moment?
[00:12:22] Speaker B: So I realized that when I got to. Actually, before I got there.
[00:12:27] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:12:27] Speaker B: When I talked to that man on the phone at 10 something, he was like, you need to come here. I was like, this is the type of care I would love anybody to hear. Is that expected of a doctor? Absolutely not. Absolutely not. I'm not thinking, like, my doctor should call me at 10pm and just be like, catch the radar. I'm gonna take care of you. I do not expect that type of.
But I do expect my doctor to listen to me and believe me when I tell you what's going on 100%. I expect that.
[00:12:51] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:12:51] Speaker B: I deserve that as my right. I do believe you should have given me all options. Had that surgeon that put in the original cerclage said, you could have got a trans abdominal sur clash that's permanent, and you wouldn't have to be touched again. I would have chose that option. So when we were talking about informed consent, I only had consent that was done for that surgery. It was not completely informed. And I do expect my provider to give me informed consent, giving me all my options. And when I met Dr. Falwell, because I have to say his name every interview. Dr. Falwell at Texas Health when I met him and how attentive he was, he was at my bed 1am, 3am, 1pm I asked him, like, do you sleep? Like, are you a vampire?
Why are you here? Right? Like, no, I didn't expect him to give me his cell phone, any orders. We were discussing via text, like, I think we need to try this tocolytic. Or this might be better. You know, by then I'll probably have. But just kidding, because y'.
[00:13:44] Speaker A: All.
[00:13:44] Speaker B: I cannot do what y' all do. It'll and midwives, so. But I do expect and would love for other people to experience at least a portion of how amazing Dr. Falwell was and his team. I mean, that was a very traumatic and vulnerable moment, and he made it. Okay.
[00:14:02] Speaker A: That's awesome. Thank you for sharing that. So how did you find Strength during this time of experiencing what it seems like hurt after hurt, pain after pain.
[00:14:15] Speaker B: So my strength came from multiple sources. And at different times. I would be a liar if I was like, yeah, the whole time I was just a strong soldier. I just knew I was going to have a baby. It was times I was. I felt very weak many times. But the strength came from my providers. Some of my providers, they were like, well, we haven't tried this yet. We have to try this. We're not done yet. So I was like, okay. I am the type of person who exhausts all options first before I quote, unquote, give up or throw in a towel. So that was one source. The other one was my. My talk therapist, who I still see every week. Like, I don't know. Well, I do know. I would not have survived this tumultuous pregnancy journey had I not had therapy. And just my village, like, my village, maybe they didn't agree with every pregnancy. And I kept going. I'm sure they just. Because they saw me hurt and they saw, you know, when the baby fell out during a gender reveal, it was so many horrib.
They survived with me that it was hard for them to watch. But they were unwavering in their support, even when I was like, well, I'm trying one more time. This is baby number 10. We're gonna just see this is the last time. And they, you know, stuck with it. The canceled baby showers that we had and all of the tears and the prayers and the appointments, and so it was really a combination of those things at different times that kept me going. In addition to the desire to want to be a mom and a parent.
[00:15:41] Speaker A: Yes.
See where you're coming from with having hope, you know, you have that hope that's undeniable, like, hope that can't nobody take away. And when it comes to, like, family, like, family loves you, so they don't want to see you hurt. And a lot of times, with our natural eyes, we just see the patterns. We see what has happened. But when we have hope and we have faith, we can believe for what's to come and what we are desiring to come, which is that successful pregnancy, that healthy baby. And by the grace of God, God has showed up in both of our lives after having pregnancy loss.
[00:16:17] Speaker B: Right. And the thing is about, like, when God gives us assignments, other people don't know your assignment.
[00:16:23] Speaker A: Right.
[00:16:24] Speaker B: They just see you doing the work and see the adversity that you're facing. They see the winds. They don't know the assignment. And what it all means. And sometimes we don't always put it together.
[00:16:35] Speaker A: Right.
[00:16:36] Speaker B: I knew that I was going to have a baby. I didn't know when and I didn't know how. I didn't know if it was natural or what it was.
[00:16:42] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:16:43] Speaker B: But I did know that this was my journey and I had to accept that, as hard as that was.
[00:16:48] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:16:49] Speaker B: And when you are, when a promise is placed into your heart and a gift is given to you, such as motherhood is, it doesn't matter if other people can't really understand and comprehend it fully. But as long as you know and you stay steadfast on that journey, that's what matters.
[00:17:07] Speaker A: Yes, I agree. I stand and agree on that. Thank you for sharing your story. Thank you for just coming out the gate with what you've experienced. And I think that what really drew me to you to be an individual, a woman who has suffered so much loss, but yet you come out with a whole non profit foundation, right. To advocate for patients, for maternal health, both on the healthcare side and on the patient side. Because you're a nurse.
[00:17:39] Speaker B: You're a nurse and a patient and a patient.
[00:17:43] Speaker A: And it's funny that the one thing that you wanted to stay away from is the main thing you get a life lesson in.
[00:17:48] Speaker B: Yes, ain't God funny man? I'm telling you, the jokes is right they self and this they say, tell God what you want to do. Right? Right.
[00:17:58] Speaker A: He's probably like, oh right, sure, let's see what you gonna do versus what I'm finna allow.
[00:18:04] Speaker B: Right?
[00:18:04] Speaker A: Yes. That's God for us. With all one nurse being catered to, supporting new nurses and nursing students in your professional journey, just going back to getting through nursing school and getting your master's. What is something that you want to tell new nurses and nursing students before we actually get into your patient perspective and your educational insights.
[00:18:28] Speaker B: So my nursing experience in school was very different. You know, I, I can't give you advice about. I can, but I'm going to refuse to give you advice about how to make it through school and the curriculum. We know it's hard. I think it's in like the world Genesis book of like the hardest degrees. Like the bsn. Like I think it is, if I'm not mistaken. Like we know it's hard. You know, the tests are like which orange is most orange? Like we know that's true.
We know how it is. You know you're going to survive that. The issue is life happens at the same time. Life does not stop while you're in nursing school or doing any, anything or achieving any goals. The thing is that you have to be resilient throughout nursing school or else you not gonna make it. I promise you when final happens, that's when somebody's gonna pass that you love. That's when you can't afford your bills. Cause you're trying to pay for nursing school. You're almost homeless. You know you're having a mental breakdown because it's too much. So you have to support yourself and get yourself to a point where you're resilient through adversity. Because a lot we know how nursing school is at this point. It's the outside factors that impacted me when I, I started my BSN journey. And I've never said this before, I flunked out of nursing school because I couldn't afford my bills and I had to work.
I could get up there and teach lectures in the class. There was one professor, I'm not gonna name her because I don't get in trouble, but she used to like to teach the class. That's how, that's how much I knew. But I could, I would like miss a whole exam because I was too busy working two jobs so I wouldn't be homeless. I had eviction notices, thank God I didn't get eviction, but multiple eviction notices on my apartment door when I would come home after a long day of clinicals. So it was like, right? It was, it's crazy. My story is crazy, but I survived it. And to think that my master's will be easier. Yes, the work is easier because it's papers and it's just easier. It, it is easier in my opinion, my msn.
But life happened again.
Again.
Again.
That two year degree took eight years and three months because life kept happening, kept happening. So if I didn't have resilience and built up, built up resilience and be able to survive and even thrive through adversity, I wouldn't be a nurse. I wouldn't be a nurse.
So that is my advice to take care of yourself as much as possible. Cease the goods, the good moments, because they're temporary, but so are the bad ones.
And try your best to build up that resilience and just know that these horrible moments are temporary, just like the good ones. And just keep pushing, just literally keep pushing through it.
[00:21:13] Speaker A: That's good. My father in law, you know, he said that we can't make permanent decisions off of temporary situations.
And when he said that, I was like, that is so true. So True. So don't give up when things are hard.
[00:21:28] Speaker B: Right.
[00:21:29] Speaker A: Because it won't be hard always.
[00:21:31] Speaker B: It won't.
[00:21:32] Speaker A: Thank you for the advice, Rachelle, for nursing students and for new nurses.
Because even. Because I've also found that they're struggling.
[00:21:41] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:21:42] Speaker A: And I'm just like, did you eat breakfast? Do you eat before you go to work?
[00:21:46] Speaker B: Do you take breaks?
[00:21:47] Speaker A: And they're just like, no, I just want to make sure I do everything. And I'm like, no, you're running on empty.
[00:21:52] Speaker B: Right. You're leaning. You're heading to a burnout.
[00:21:55] Speaker A: Yep. Heading straight to a burnout. And the last thing I desire for new nurses is to burn out and then leave the profession altogether.
[00:22:04] Speaker B: Yes. Yes.
[00:22:05] Speaker A: When you really went into it with the right intentions of wanting to care for others, but there was no balance, no boundaries.
[00:22:13] Speaker B: Right.
[00:22:14] Speaker A: So.
[00:22:15] Speaker B: Yeah. Right.
[00:22:17] Speaker A: I'm glad you spoke on that. Just listen, just listening in to your story and just going back to your pregnancies, your pregnancy losses, could you explain the cervical insufficiency?
[00:22:31] Speaker B: Am I saying that right?
[00:22:32] Speaker A: Explain that and the. And the treatment so that the one, the woman that may be hearing this, that may be diagnosed with the same thing.
[00:22:40] Speaker B: Absolutely. So cervical insufficiency, also called cervical incompetence. I hate both of those terms. But you don't want to hear that you're incompetent or insufficient after you already have pregnancy loss. But it's often diagnosed when you've had multiple late pregnancy losses, like later in the first trimester, early second, early second trimester, late in the first trimester, when the baby is heavy enough to sit on your cervix and cause it to open. Right. So your cervix is too weak to carry the baby full term. And the treatment is a couple of things. It depends on where you are, who your provider is. But the treatment is you can get or be prescribed suppositories, specifically progesterone suppositories, which is supposed to strengthen the cervix if your progesterone is low. Some providers feel like regardless of if your progesterone is low or high, those suppositories do help. Others do not believe that there is another treatment that is more effective, which is a cerclage. There are two types of. Well, there are multiple types of cerclage. The typical one that you put in first is a cervical cerclage. So it's allure. It's a cerclage that's lower on the cervix, and you put in around 13 weeks, give or take a few weeks and you take it out around 36, 37 weeks to deliver. You take it out before then if there are complications that require it to be removed. There was another cerclage called a trans abdominal cerclage. That cerclage is placed higher on a cervix and has more efficiency rate and is a permanent cerclage, unless you have like infection or something that requires it to be taken out, is left in you forever.
And with that, when you have to have a C section because it stays there. So the other sarcage, ideally you will have a vaginal delivery because they remove it about 36, 37 weeks. Okay.
Yeah.
[00:24:30] Speaker A: Thank you for explaining that.
[00:24:32] Speaker B: Yeah, I hope that was helpful.
[00:24:34] Speaker A: Yes, that's very helpful. Because sometimes people don't really know, like they may have heard the diagnosis. But again, if they're not, if they don't know how to advocate for themselves. Knowledge is power.
[00:24:44] Speaker B: Right. And these are things that I had to look up and didn't know about. I'm not learning about circlages and trauma.
It's not the type of trauma that we are learning about when we think about being a patient ourselves and having to advocate. And like I said, you can't do that without education.
It's also important to get your education from a credible source. So I always, and granted, I've been in school forever and probably will be for the rest of my life, we do a lot of research and where that research comes from is very important.
So if you can always look up credible sources like Mayo Clinic, you know, Harvard has their different research and Emory does and there are so many different places who, who do. But if you can look up peer reviewed articles that are credible just to give you more information, everything on the Google search is not credible.
[00:25:38] Speaker A: Right, right. Thank you for sharing that. When I went through my miscarriages, I think the main one was the dnc. I had to decide whether to get a DNC or take medication at home. And I actually went to work that same day just so I could look at resources and talk to other women and come to find out I really got some good, sound advice from them based off their own experiences. And I looked on up to Date because it was, you know, provided through my organization. So that really helped me make a decision to do the DNC at the time.
[00:26:12] Speaker B: Right. And it's not, it's not just the research you find. Right. Like you said, we're also talking to our counterpoints. That's why these sister circles and mom circles and to claudge groups and different things like that are so important because yes, we have research as well. But if my sister and my counterpart, my friend, has been through this and been there, done that, they can probably give me things that can prompt me to ask my provider that couldn't even find it in a Google search or on research. And because especially this day and age, a lot of funding has been cut. So what that means for the common person, health care and the patients receiving health care is that we're not always going to have up to date research because of this funding being cut. That's how it's going to translate and impact us. We're not always going to have research for black women. There's a lot of research that was done on a white man that doesn't always translate to care for black women, our women.
It's also good to do the research but also talk to people, see if somebody's been there, done that. Also ask them what their experience was. What did it look like when your sarcage was failing? Am I having those experiences? Can I speak up to my provider? How did you speak up? Bring that research to the appointment, say here, put it on the table like a listen. This is what I found.
Have honest conversations. And if you can have those conversations, provider, don't be afraid to switch providers as well. You know, that could be a very daunting task, but important.
[00:27:41] Speaker A: I'm glad you said that. Able to being okay with switching providers. Sometimes I think we question ourselves like, well, I don't want anybody to be mad at me or we just don't know that it's okay to switch providers.
[00:27:52] Speaker B: Yes, it's okay. You do feel guilt in some situations. You feel guilt in some situations. If you are like me and you're just so tired and sick and gone through so much, you just don't have it in you to do all that paperwork and switching and having a reading on you and all that stuff too. And I get that. But if somebody was told me you wouldn't have had nine pregnancy losses and you, you know, you could have had one or two or something like that. I would have definitely switched my provider if I would have known about trans abdominal sarcophagus and wasn't just told about trans vaginal ones, I would have picked that one. So you never want to be on the end of should. I could have, would have, right?
If you can help it.
[00:28:34] Speaker A: And sometimes, and that's what unfortunately we learn from others experiences.
If we honestly tune in and listen, you get to learn things like this.
[00:28:46] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:28:46] Speaker A: And that's what I love about podcasting. That's what I love. Articles, research, just getting that information out there for those who need it. Jumping right into patient perspective. From your perspective, what are the most significant gaps in maternal health care that you believe patients face today?
[00:29:06] Speaker B: So the one I'm one of the ones that I'm most passionate about, because that is a loaded question, is so many gaps, especially in today's political climate with this big, beautiful bill and stuff. I can go on about just the disparities that that's going to cause, as if we're not already in this. Oh my goodness. But yeah, you know, the maternal health, the maternal death rate is so high, especially for women of color. You know, as a patient, when you're going into these healthcare settings, advocacy is such a big deal. It's such a big deal. And you cannot advocate for yourself without the education.
And I share my story so willingly because I need people to truly understand how important advocacy is. Self advocacy is. And I have to always disclose that I'm a nurse. Just so you know, just how difficult it is to advocate for yourself in this setting. Even as a healthcare provider, it is still difficult to navigate the healthcare system as a patient. And it's because especially black women, they don't listen to us, they don't believe us, our symptoms are dismissed, we have delayed treatment, and then all of that can lead to our death. And here we are with this very high maternal mortality rate. So again, self advocacy is so important.
It's so important. I made it one of my life's missions to create this space where I'm teaching patients how to self advocate, put out the education for them, but also to teach the providers with my story that I've turned into an interactive case study on how your actions or lack thereof can result in non pregnancy losses and even a possible death of a patient. So advocacy is so big. So big.
[00:30:50] Speaker A: Yes, ma'.
[00:30:51] Speaker B: Am.
[00:30:51] Speaker A: You say you turned it into a case study. Do you present virtually or in person? Like tell me more about.
[00:30:58] Speaker B: Absolutely. I do both.
[00:31:00] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:31:00] Speaker B: My favorite people to present to healthcare professional wise is students. You know why? Because they're bright eyed and bushy tail and they're like, yes, yes. They're not burnt out. Like they're not like over it. They're like, yes, I can't wait. I'm here to save the world.
We have to horn in on that energy.
[00:31:17] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:31:18] Speaker B: And they're more open. Right. So I'm getting them before they even touch a Patient. This is what the current climate of maternal health and healthcare, it's not just maternal health, it's healthcare. But you know, my emphasis is maternal health. But this is what you're walking into. I need you to be that person that's different and challenge the status quo and listen to your patients and believe what they're telling you and treat them. And also understand that everybody is not gonna present with textbook symptoms. I don't, I can tell you multiple issues that were life threatening right now and when I just went through with my brain and I just don't present textbook all the time. So I need you as an upcoming, the new generation of healthcare providers to really listen to your patients and identify, you know, different issues that they may having that they might not clinically present like you think they would, but believe them.
[00:32:10] Speaker A: That's true. One of the nurses that I interviewed and like my very first season, Dr. Ashanta Coleman, and she was a nurse practitioner and she had a stroke due to birth control use. And the provider, she was, she was having really bad pain. I think this was the second stroke. And she said that the provider basically said that she didn't look like she was in pain.
[00:32:30] Speaker B: Well, I got that a lot of times. I get that so often. And then when we don't look like we're in pain, they don't treat us right. And there are studies to actually show that there are healthcare providers who really feel like black women do not experience the amount of pain that they say they do or the amount of pain that our white counterparts have for the same issues. So we don't get the treatment and we're suffering.
[00:32:52] Speaker A: That's crazy. I know. We, you know, you know, we hear the, the term or this, the sentence, the sentence drone, black woman. Yes, but we don't mean it in that sense.
[00:33:03] Speaker B: We don't mean it in that sense.
[00:33:04] Speaker A: We don't mean it.
[00:33:05] Speaker B: We do not. I mean, even recently, transparently, when I had to get a brain stent a few weeks ago, I kept presenting to the hospital. I was hospitalized all of May. So that tells me like you to some extent believe my symptoms are serious for you to admit me into the hospital that many times. So as I roll into the CT scanner to get a venogram, I was told by one of the healthcare providers that you look like you need to go home. You don't look sick as a nurse. Anybody that's in the hospital bed on a gurney looks sick to me. Oh, I'm over here. I can't even see. I can't even see. I was like, sir, I cannot even see you right now. I had an ER doctor tell me the same thing. You look. You look great. Because I had on, I guess, my Ray Ban shades because I had photosensitivity. So I guess I look like Beyonce in the. In the bed or something.
I was like, well, I feel comfortable. Yeah. He was like, we look like we could send you home. I say, sir, if you send me home, I'm not gonna make it. So I was told. And I had a hospitalist came into my room after being in the hospital for five days. I could not see. I was vomiting.
[00:34:11] Speaker A: Neurological.
[00:34:12] Speaker B: Yeah, all neurological. I couldn't walk without a walker. My balance was horrible. I had falls already. You already confirmed on the vegan gram that I had narrowing of my left transverse side. And you talk about, well, you look good. We could send you home. And you're the hospitalist. I said, sir, if you send me home, it will be horrible consequences.
[00:34:31] Speaker A: It's like you can't even make this up. And you're talking about May 2025.
[00:34:35] Speaker B: Yeah, just last month.
[00:34:37] Speaker A: May 2025.
[00:34:39] Speaker B: Yes, May 25. It probably won't be last month, but yes, May 2025 of this year. And then I had a fight. I mean, fight to get the stem placement sooner. By the time I was going to the OR to get it done, I could not walk. I had vomited for 16 hours straight. And I could not see in front of me.
[00:34:56] Speaker A: I don't even know what to say to that. You would think it's as easy as 1, 2, 3. Like, the. This is what you're presenting with. You have the imaging that aligns with what you're presenting with.
[00:35:09] Speaker B: Right.
[00:35:10] Speaker A: You know what the treatment is?
[00:35:12] Speaker B: You know what the treatment is.
[00:35:13] Speaker A: Just do it. Why I gotta beg? Why do I have to beg?
[00:35:17] Speaker B: Literally begging. Literally begging. And they were trying to do a June 19th, so I would. I wouldn't have made it that long.
[00:35:27] Speaker A: Because you're already symptomatic.
[00:35:29] Speaker B: I'm very symptomatic. Like, I. I literally. I wouldn't be able to see you on the screen. That's how bad it was.
Yep. And I have a baby, right? So there were times, like, I have pictures of my baby, like, in the hospital with me. So it was just.
I cannot. I always go back to how important self advocacy was. But in this case in May, I was definitely using my neuro ICU experience and knowledge. I got my surgery in Kentucky. I was calling counterparts, like Dr. Webb in Atlanta. He talked to me, helped me Advocate for myself, the nurse practitioner I work with. I posted on LinkedIn and these neurosurgeons was calling them. People had reached out to me, was like, I know a neurosurgeon. We could. So you could talk to them. Because it was also like, should she get a VP shun and a stand or the surgery? Because that might be another reality, that I might need a VP shunt. But I talked to seven neurosurgeons. Seven. Wow.
And I'm using all. Everything they're telling me. Statistics. We've having. We're having a conversation. I'm able to be empowered to advocate because while I am a neuro ICD nurse as well, I'm still a patient and I'm sick. So I'm just like, I need help. And they were there. But then I think about the common person in the hospital. Don't have access to all these people, don't have the knowledge base. They're sick. You don't feel empowered while you're sick to have these conversations. And then without the education, you can't advocate for yourself.
So I'm like, what are these people doing? They're dying or they're severely debilitated. They're not making it. So it's just scary.
[00:37:09] Speaker A: That's very scary. Very scary. Keep going deep on me.
[00:37:13] Speaker B: You keep going. There's a lot to talk about, counseling. You're gonna need a therapy session.
[00:37:20] Speaker A: I'm telling you.
Some good prayer, you know. But I know God makes no mistakes. I don't wish anything on anyone.
[00:37:28] Speaker B: Right.
[00:37:29] Speaker A: But I know as long as we're in this world, we're not exempt from the things that may happen in this world. But man, when it happened to someone who is going to take the experience and preserve others with it because you're going to tell the story. You're going to share your testimony like you are now. And so I'm just like, okay, God, I mean, what else we got coming? Because it's a light after nine. So what else? There's a light after this too, because.
[00:37:54] Speaker B: It is something else I am working on too. Yeah, that. That was birth doing this preview that is coming soon. Hopefully we could do another podcast. I can't speak on it now because infancy, but I do believe that it will save a lot of lives and potentially change the face of healthcare. So I'm excited to share that when I'm further along in this project.
[00:38:17] Speaker A: Yes, I can't wait to see what you are working on because I know it is going to be awesome and I know God is doing his big thing through you. I just thank God that you are whole, that you are well, and that you are back home.
That I'm back home, Precious son of yours.
[00:38:37] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:38:37] Speaker A: Yes, yes, yes.
[00:38:39] Speaker B: I wonder if I will be back here. To be honest, my face did get very weary at some times, so. Which I think is just normal.
[00:38:47] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:38:47] Speaker B: You're going through. But I'm so glad to be home, you know, and I'm so glad. And when I tell you night and day, a month ago, I could not see you. And here, like, my vision is better. Even my hearing is better.
It's crazy. So I could walk and I could pick up my heavy little boy.
[00:39:07] Speaker A: Don't do too much.
[00:39:08] Speaker B: I know. Not too much. You know, we just. We feel. I feel like I have superpowers now.
[00:39:12] Speaker A: Yes. And that was going to be my one question, like, how are you doing with everything?
[00:39:16] Speaker B: I feel great. Like, I feel great.
[00:39:19] Speaker A: Awesome.
[00:39:20] Speaker B: Awesome.
[00:39:21] Speaker A: I really, really, really appreciate you, Rachelle, for sharing your nursing care and most of all, your personal journey during this time.
[00:39:31] Speaker B: Working personal. Definitely mix. Because I would not choose eight years and three months to finish a master's degree at all. And so I'm crazy to even start this doctorate journey. But just pray for me nothing else happened, Lord, you know?
[00:39:45] Speaker A: So with your doctors, are you going.
[00:39:47] Speaker B: To do nursing practice and the doctorate of nursing practice? Yes. It'll be a dnp. And I know my mentors are going to hate me because I got, like, so many letter of recommendations for public health, which I asked y', all, and I love y' all so much. I'm so sorry, but I'm g. Stick with tech. And I'm. I'm.
Because that is where. That is my assignment.
[00:40:06] Speaker A: Got you.
[00:40:07] Speaker B: That is my assignment.
[00:40:09] Speaker A: Look, don't be letting people down on my poc.
[00:40:11] Speaker B: You know, I know they gonna be like, girl, you had us write this. These recommendations, and I love y' all so much. I'mma use them for something. Yes. Grant or something. The testament of my character.
[00:40:24] Speaker A: Yes. Well, this is awesome. I'mma have to stay connected with this doctorate journey myself to see how you're doing.
[00:40:32] Speaker B: Yes. Yes. Please check on me. Check on your doctoral candidate friends. Yes.
[00:40:38] Speaker A: It's gonna be Dr. Rachelle Dumas.
[00:40:42] Speaker B: Yes. Yes, yes.
[00:40:43] Speaker A: When's our projected date? Graduation.
[00:40:47] Speaker B: So I'm projected to start August 19, which is the day before my birthday. And it's a year and a half program. As long as I could get clinicals out the way in a decent amount of time, it'll be a year and a half. So not crazy.
[00:41:02] Speaker A: One busy woman.
Yes, but blessed nonetheless. Yes, blessed nonetheless. Now how can my listeners connect with you?
[00:41:14] Speaker B: Absolutely a person professionally. You can connect with me on LinkedIn at Rachelle Dumas. It's MSNRN behind it, soon to be DNP but I love to connect on LinkedIn. As far as if you would like to have access to our services which is helping vet and find providers, healthcare providers during your pregnancy journey. If you would like to participate in the mom to mom mentorship or the Momtorship program that we have or see where we're at. I'm always doing public speaking. I'll be at Shades and Blue Maternal Health Conference. You can go on on our social medias which is A Light after nine on all social media and then you can also Visit our website alightafter9.org and see what's new. And if you would like to donate, we take donations as well. We have a lot of upcoming events so please follow us and just stay connected.
[00:42:06] Speaker A: Awesome. That is great. Well Rachelle, I pray that God continue to bless you in all that you do, that he go before you and continue to light your path as you light up everyone else with your experience with the purpose that God has given you. You are truly a blessing.
[00:42:25] Speaker B: Thank you so much.
[00:42:27] Speaker A: Truly a blessing. Thank you for being with us. And I will definitely put all the details of how to connect with you professionally on LinkedIn as well as the website a light after nine down in the descriptions below.
Thank you Rachelle.
[00:42:42] Speaker B: Thank you for having me.
[00:42:59] Speaker A: Thank you for joining me and Rachelle Dumas on this powerful episode of the All One Nurse podcast where we dove deep and unpacked the gaps in maternal health care, the challenges that women especially, especially women of color face in the clinical setting, and the critical importance of self advocacy even when you're a nurse navigating the system as a patient. And Rachelle's story just reminds us that education and shared experiences are tools of empowerment and that our voices truly matter. And I really thank her for getting on with us today. Now, coming up on the next All Oneness Podcast, I'm going to be sitting down with Brianna Corbett, who's a fierce advocate for underrepresented and minority communities and a rising voice on TikTok where she's known as Amthereal RN.
[00:44:01] Speaker B: And we're gonna be talking about Abid.
[00:44:03] Speaker A: Advocacy and what it really means to show up online as a nurse with purpose. And I promise you, you do not want to miss it. So if you haven't already Feel free. Go ahead and subscribe to this podcast now. If you'd like to support the podcast and keep these conversations flowing, you can buy me a coffee.
And you can find literally a link down in the description below from wherever you're tuning in from that says Buy me a coffee.
Click on that link and any amount I am grateful, humbly grateful. And also while you're in the descriptions, check out All1Nurse Linktree where you'll find information about the All1Nurse 10 week mentorship program.
You'll find free guides and resources to help build your confidence and ways to connect with me, your host, Nurse Chanel Tompkins, across all the different social platforms as well as nursing resources on Amazon. So go check that out. Nursing items on Amazon. So go check that out. And I just want to also give a special shout out to Nurse Converse podcast presented by Nurse Dot, because with their support I can bring these interviews to a wider audience. And if you've been inspired, if you've been inspired by today's episode, click the referral link in my link tree or in the descriptions below and refer me on Nurse Converse. Together we're building something so much bigger. Now. Until next time, I want you to stay grounded, stay bold, and remember, you are never alone in your journey and continue to let your light shine.
[00:45:52] Speaker B: Bye.
