Today we’d like to introduce you to Maria Reid.
Hi Maria, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I have always known I wanted to care for others but did not know in what capacity. I later realized that nursing would be my passion. After obtaining my bachelor’s degree in nursing from Hampton University I relocated to the nation’s capital to work in one of the world’s leading academic and research institutions, Georgetown University as a registered nurse. While working nights and days for many years on a rigorous medical/surgical floor I decided I wanted to have a greater impact in my community by going back to school to obtain my masters. Still maintaining full-time status as a floor nurse and garnering the distinction of ‘Nurse of the Year’ I was also able to complete my master’s in nursing as a family nurse practitioner.
I later moved to New Jersey where I was able to practice in various specialties such as interventional spine and pain management, urogynecology, and now psychiatry. In 2010 I married my best friend and college crush and have managed to now build an empire that includes five kids (all under the age of 11) and two dogs. We have been known to share our hectic, yet fun life on social media and have been blessed to be connected to various well-known brands such as Publix, Primrose, Chick-fil-A. As a wife to a hard-working and dedicated husband, mother to five beautiful energetic children, and a busy nurse practitioner to those in need of mental health services in the community I will continue to push myself daily in order to leave an impact on those around me.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I tell myself the same quote that I tell my patients. “The best way out is through” by Robert Frost. Like most people in this world, I have had numerous challenges in this journey of life. Most recently our world was flipped upside down after I found my daughter in her room unresponsive. Laying lifeless on the top bunk of a bed I heard OUR two younger daughters screaming down the hall that the bed would not stop shaking. At 6 am I raced to see what the commotion was and that is when I found my daughter. Nearly eight minutes later she would finally come to with my husband and me along with the EMS and firefighters surrounding her.
A week later after the various test, she would be diagnosed with epilepsy. Despite working in the medical field, I felt powerless to her new diagnosis. Unsure of when the next seizure would occur and if we would be there to save her or not left us in a constant state of hypervigilance. Fast forward six months we as a family have grown stronger and count each day as a blessing. With this challenge, our goal is to be advocates for those diagnosed with childhood epilepsy and support other families.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a family nurse practitioner. I graduated from Hampton University and Georgetown University. I have worked in internal medicine, interventional pain management, urogynecology, and psychiatry. I am proud of how many people I have had the pleasure of caring for over the last 16 years. I believe one attribute that sets me apart from others is my ability to balance the daily challenges of being a mother to five young children and my professional career of caring for all those in need.
We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
I came from a fairly conservative home where risks were not often explored, let alone taken. Despite that, I would consider myself a risk-taker in the sense of doing things myself.
Ever since high school, my best friend would joke that I would always say “I can make that myself” rather than getting it made or just buying something. I have deemed myself the ultimate DIYer and my nickname amongst other friends is that I am the “Pinterest mom.” Whether the challenge is to plan an event from top to bottom or reupholster a piece of furniture my mentality is to get it done with my own unique twist.
Contact Info:
- Email: therealreidcrew@gmail.com
- Instagram: thereidcrew
Image Credits
Keith Jackson
