More Than a Mother :: Two Nurses’ Special Bond

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Meet two of Birmingham Mom Collective‘s favorite Ascension St. Vincent’s nurses: Amy and Faith. While they could pass for sisters with their matching red hair and effervescent smiles, Amy is actually Faith’s mother!

Amy and Faith are best friends, coworkers, and neighbors. (yes . . . neighbors, too!) Their relationship is inspirational, and we are excited to share their story with our readers just in time for Mother’s Day.

Can you tell which is which?! That’s daughter, Faith, on the left and mom, Amy, on the right!

A Legacy of Strong Women

Even as a child, Faith was always a caretaker. She loved taking care of others and formed a deep bond as a caretaker for her great-grandmother (Amy’s grandmother) as a teen. Her great-grandmother was bedridden with Parkinson’s disease toward the end of her life, and Faith never missed an opportunity to sit with her, hold her hand, and serve her. Seeing her daughter Faith’s passion and care for her great-grandmother inspired Amy and the rest of the family.

A legacy of strong women: Faith, Faith’s grandmother (Amy’s mother), and Amy along with Faith’s oldest daughter.

Amy and Faith come from a long line of strong, hard-working women. Faith’s great-grandmother worked hard raising her family during the Great Depression and subsequent years, but she always wished she could have been a nurse and wanted all the women in her family to fulfill her dream as well. That nursing dream finally came to fruition in Amy, then again in Faith.

Amy’s Story

Amy became a nurse during a midlife career pivot. She realized she’d rather put the hours she spent as a medical sales rep into something more personally fulfilling. Amy exchanged a higher-paying, stressful job for a career in nursing. She wanted to help others and “to make her children proud of her.” (Faith insists they’re always proud of her!)

As a single mom, Amy’s parents helped with her kids (including Faith, who was a child at the time) while she put herself through nursing school.

On June 4, 2007, Amy began her second career at Ascension St. Vincent’s as a labor and delivery nurse. She eventually switched to working in the NICU in 2011, where she still works.

Faith’s Story

Always caring and nurturing, Faith realized she wanted to study nursing like her mom. But the one thing she knew she never wanted to do? Be a labor and delivery nurse! She knew people expected her to follow her mother’s exact path, and she was determined to do something different. But, Faith soon learned to never say never! At her first labor and delivery rotation in nursing school, she knew she’d found her calling and didn’t look back.

Incidentally, Faith started her nursing career at Ascension St. Vincent’s eleven years to the day her mom started. June 4th is a fun work anniversary for these two!

Mom Goals

Those of us with daughters can see right away how Amy and Faith are #momgoals! There are occasions where both are in the same room for certain high-risk deliveries (when a baby will need to be whisked away to the NICU), and they know they have each other’s back.

How cute is this mother/daughter team?! Amy relishes being a grandmother to Faith’s daughters!

They are each other’s biggest cheerleaders. Faith says her mom is her hero. She’s listened to coworkers and patients alike rave about Amy. She’s watched her mom save lives all while staying calm, confident, and compassionate in those difficult nursing situations.

Amy says of her daughter, “Faith has handled some pretty sick moms and has caught things most nurses would not notice unless they had years of adult nursing under their belt. I have had several doctors come to me and tell me that if they were hospitalized with anything, they would be very happy to see her walk in their rooms to take care of them. That speaks volumes to me. She is a fantastic nurse who cares for her patients and advocates for them in ways that go above and beyond the standard we are called to serve. I am more proud of her than I could ever put into words.”

Mom Advice

For those who think they’ll never have this kind of relationship with their daughter, Amy advises them to hang in there. “It wasn’t always this way!” she said with a laugh.

Who knew one day her daughter would be her coworker, carpool buddy (remember, they’re neighbors?!), and best friend? And to top it off, she’s now Memaw to Faith’s two daughters (including one born this week)!

Faith’s three-year-old daughter looks to be following in her mother and grandmother’s footsteps. She’s already hospitable, nurturing, serving, and wants to take care of her loved ones. 

Both Amy and Faith love what they do. They share an unbreakable bond that blesses all their coworkers and patients who know them. Amy and Faith’s warmth, laughter, and love are contagious. Just five minutes into meeting them, you’ll feel you’re their best friend, too!

The time Faith was the labor and delivery patient!

We want to wish Amy and Faith a very happy Mother’s Day, and thank them for all the ways they inspire us to be better mothers and daughters!