Jillian De Moya

Help Jillian stay in nursing school!

My first two births were difficult and left me feeling unfulfilled and defeated in many ways. I made a decision after my second baby that I was not going to settle for that kind of birth experience. So, I got busy and educated myself and got what I wanted! My life would never be the same. After the natural birth of my third son, as the midwife was bathing me, I had an epiphany about my life: this was what I was supposed to do! I was to take care of women and families and serve as a nurse-midwife. But I didn’t think I could do it. I didn’t believe I was smart enough, and I was scared. I struggled with depression, and I questioned my self-worth. Despite these feelings of inadequacy, I went on to become a doula and to learn Spanish. I love connecting with families of all cultures, and I loved working with the Latino community in south Texas. I discovered that humanity reaches across cultural differences and that serving women was a deeply humbling experience. This was when I first saw I could achieve something I set my mind on. Three years ago I found myself at a critical junction in my life. I was a new single mother and did not know how I was going to provide for my children. I did what I thought was the next best step, and that was to bring the play Birth to my own community. Through that process of producing, directing, and acting, I realized once again the power that I have within me! Facing my fears, I enrolled at the local community college and took classes full-time. A year later, with a grade point average of 3.9, I applied to nursing school and was accepted at Goshen College! I am now in my first semester at Goshen College as a nursing student, and more than ever, I can see my vision for the future! Like any mother, everything I do is for the benefit of my children. As a family we have managed to take giant steps together. Last spring their Dad lost his job, and the loss of that monthly support has been devastating. One day last month I sat at my desk surrounded by bills, and disconnection notices, and I realized I couldn’t pay them. I cannot go on the way it is now. There have been so many roadblocks along the way, but I have not let anything stop me: not my fear, my doubts, or even being a single mother of four without support. That is why today I am reaching out to my community. More than ever, I realize that I cannot do this alone. I need your help. I am reaching out to ask for help to get my nursing and then midwifery degree and to serve women. Your financial support would go towards our housing and utilities so that I can focus on getting my nursing degree. Sadly, my education is in jeopardy.... I may be forced to drop out of school because of my dire financial situation. I am looking at my circumstances and wondering: “Can I do it?” So I am telling myself the truth - the mission I am on is an important one and I can do it! The world needs good nurses and midwives to serve families, and I am willing to do whatever I can to fulfill the call! But I can’t do it alone, I need a community. Will you partner with me and my family? As individuals we can only do so much, but as a community together, we can make a difference! Thank you so much for reading this and for caring. - Jillian Please read on for a message from Karen Brody: In 2005 I put an ad in Midwifery Today’s online newsletter asking women to tell me their birth stories for a play I intended to write on low-risk women’s experiences giving birth. Within days my inbox was jam packed. One woman’s response stood out to me. She was clearly bright, articulate, and funny. Two days later we were on the phone. I remember the first time I spoke with Jillian De Moya. She was in bed breastfeeding her daughter Salome. As Jillian spoke – taking me on a Hero’s Journey from her first to her forth birth story - I could hear Salome’s slurp in the background. Occassionally one of Jillian’s sons would walk into the room and ask Mommy for a pen or piece of paper. But what I remember most about our 4 hour chat was her laugh, how it hugged me like a best friend, inviting me to greet her in an intimacy few of the other women I interviewed offered. At the end of our conversation Jillian shared with me that she hoped to be a nurse-midwife one day. When we got off the phone I knew two things: that Jillian would be a central character in my play BIRTH and that she would one day become a nurse-midwife. Today Jillian’s voice is heard all over the world in my play BIRTH, making audiences laugh, cry, cheer…just like she did with me when I first spoke with her. Women have woken up in their birth, changed their birth plans, because of Jillian and those who’ve had previous birth trauma have found the bravery to confront their birth baggage and seek safe passage in their next births because of her. Now it’s time to give back to Jillian. It has not been an easy journey for her to begin her nurse-midwifery studies. So many obstacles in her life could have stopped her. But she made it. Today she is in nursing school. As a single mom with no child support, four children at home, and a son getting ready to apply to college the odds are against her completing nursing school without additional financial assistance. This is where you can help Jillian make her dream happen – help her walk her Hero’s Journey to being a nurse-midwife. I encouraged Jillian to ask for help for her studies from not only the people who have loved her character for years on stages all over the world, but also from those who don’t even know her but realize that by helping her you’re doing a good deed in the world, you’re helping a pregnant mother in the future experience Jillian’s vibrant light. Let’s show Jillian that we care. Let’s wrap her in an intimate hug, the way she did to me and everyone she meets. Please donate anything you can so she can complete her nursing school education. Thank you! Karen Brody

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