 | WOMEN WHO SHAPE OUR LIVESFINALIST | ||
Style 1: Skinny Minnie Jeans with Scoop Neck Top Style 2: Denim Leggings with Fly Away Top |
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Megan Sikorski
City: New York State: NY Age: 27 Occupation: Doula and Nurse Practitioner |
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What is your greatest passion? To provide children and their families not only with treatment and possible cure, but guidance and support through the darkest time in their lives; healing the entire person - not just the disease. How have you helped shape the lives of others? I work as a Nurse Practitioner in Pediatric Oncology and Bone Marrow Transplant. I am also a volunteer doula for laboring woman (especially the underserved single teens) to empower them to have a beautiful and healthy birth. I grew up watching my cousin, Dalton, go through the harrowing experience of childhood leukemia. From chemotherapy to multiple hospitalizations with fever and neutropenia, I could never understand why an innocent child had to endure so much. Since then, I have spent my life working towards a career fighting pediatric cancers. I cannot imagine anything that I would rather do with my life, and I feel so blessed to wake up each morning excited to go to work and be a part of the amazing group of men and women fighting hematologic diseases and oncologic malignancies. In the summer of 2008, I had the opportunity to travel to rural Honduras and volunteer in a maternity clinic for the local women. I saw, first hand, the incredible way in which birth has been happening for millenia, and has somehow gotten lost in the medicalized obstetrics of the U.S. As a medical professional, I felt, to some degree, that it was blasphemy to feel this way. But the truth is that pregnancy is not a disease - nor should it be treated as such. When I returned to the states, I was inspired to learn more about the concept of more natural birth and becoming a doula to support women during labor (those with and without husbands or partners). I took a training course with toLabor to become a certified Doula and I have found it an incredibly rewarding opportunity to support, calm, and empower women through such an emotionally overwhelming day. I have many passions, from running to music to the organic and local food movement, but nothing can compare to the pride I feel in being a part of these two incredible communities - one that fights cancer and the other which brings new life into the world. What is your greatest reward in life? Day to day, it's getting to see the smile on a child's face even in the midst of the potentially scary journey through chemotherapy treatment. In the long term, when I get to see a child that we have cured go on to lead a productive life. Who nominated you for Women Who Shape Our Lives? My best friend, Wallie Beth. Who inspires you most? My mom. Are there any other organizations or events that play an important role in your life? Mount Sinai Medical Center, Jack Martin Division of Pediatric Hematology & Oncology Children's Oncology Group/Cure Search Jack Martin Fund Inwood House of New York City - For teen pregnancy prevention and family support toLabor, The Organization of Labor Assistants for Birth Options & Resources - Empowering Families, Honoring Birth, Changing Lives What do you like best about Miraclebody Jeans? I love how comfortable they are - after a long day on my feet they are perfect to throw on. What's your favorite Miraclebody Jeans style? The Skinny Minnie. | |||
