We were lucky to catch up with Shawnise Chantell recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Shawnise thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Was there a moment in your career that meaningfully altered your trajectory? If so, we’d love to hear the backstory.
Trauma and critical illnesss has away of stealing timeless moments and milestones in our lives. Whether its the milestone of graduated from college, getting the dream job, being a successful entrepreneur, gaining financial freedom or even having a family. When my life shifted so did everything else including my career path. Never would I have thought my Maternity Leave would be so life -altering. On July 20th 2019 I delivered a beautiful healthy babygirl. Thereafter delivery, while the epidural was still in affect to numb my pain, I was wheeled into the operating for a simple routine procedure, a tubal ligation. Instead of the procedure lasting 20 minutes, it lasted an additional hour. 3 days hospitalized extended to 54 days. After surgery I began to showed signs of severe illness which progressed over the next 6 days. I voiced consistently of my severe abdominal pain. Still help was dismissive & wasn’t immediate. My family pushed for emergent care; Ct scan prompted emergency exploratory surgery. Surgery revealed a perforated bowel & several abscesses. Cultures revealed 3 deadly infections. The perforated bowel led to Congestive Heart Failure, Upper Respiratory & Renal Failure, Sepsis ( vomiting my bowels), Double Pneumonia and 2 Blood transfusions. My thoughts started to echo that I wouldnt survive. I was in postpartum distress. I struggled with sending my newborn to her first-time dad for 6 months, while I was hospitalized & recovering. My 16 year old was at home taking care of her 1 year old sister. This broke my heart because I had my 16 year old at 16. The day before I was scheduled for discharged I flatlined for 20 minutes and transitioned to the Afterlife. During my VT Cardiac Arrest, the Lucas device was administering CPR & the doctor administered 5 shocks. I was put into an Induced to reduce the pressure off my heart and brain. I was given medication intended to erase the memory of the trauma. On September 11, 2019 I was finally discharged, but my home freedom was short lived. Within 24 hrs I was admitted to a new hospital for Brain injury and onset of Strokelike symptoms; difficulty walking, swallowing and speaking. From there I was then treated for E coli. My only life line at the time malfunctioned and exploded on me. December 4th 2019, I received a pacemaker which later became a recall, but I wasnt going to let the fear of a recall pacemaker keep me from smiling. My kids expected their mommy to smile, plus I came too far. I survived 8 surgeries. Prior to becoming ill, I was a super healthy, jumping out airplanes, adventurous, loved climbing mountains, completed citizen fire fighter academy, and traveling. One night as I was recovering, I was watching television. A women on TV went into cardiac arrest and as CPR was being administered on her, I began to have flashbacks of my event. This led me to seeking professional help from a therapist and psychiatrist. I was in desperate need of help to process & cope with my trauma, fears, PTSD, anxiety & depression. After several sessions with my psychiatrist, she recommended that I write a book about my experiences to relieve my anguish. I noticed during the process of writing, I became at peace and it was very therapeutic. 8 months later,”God Within The Lily” was birthed. Addressing my mental health has brought me to the point of sharing my story of pain and triumph. Instead of allowing my trauma, scars and short term memory loss to control my quality of life, staying stagnant I decided to no longer let my illness and circumstance define me. Becoming an author and telling my story to Inspire & empower others is better than any professional career I had ever envisioned for myself. I am living in my calling and I feel like anything is possible. I thrive to pay it forward and be a voice to the voiceless, ignite Hope, Love, Faith and Change globally.
Shawnise, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
Who Is Shawnise Chantell? A few years ago I may have paused on this question. Now I am sure who I am and what my purpose is! I am a Mother of three amazing daughters, from Arkansas. Early in life I persevered through life’s challenges and crisis. Being a teen mom propelled me to work hard and finish medical school. As my career begins to take off at the Heart Hospital, I faced a life-altering event that left me with physical and emotional scars. My 20 minute near-death, out-of-body experience is best described as a Miracle. I written a book about my experiences, I’m proud to share it and inspire the world. The Shawnise Chantell Story: God Within The Lily, is available in Hardback and Paperback. In the future I hope to release an audio version. I want my fans to know how precious life is and that I love them. To know when or if we face trauma or sickness in our lives still there is hope for healing and dont give up an expect better tomorrow’s. My book can be found on my website for purchase at: www.shawnisechantell.com and at major bookstore, Barnes & Nobles, Amazon, BAM, Powells, Indiebound and The Hudson Group. You can support or follow me @authorshawnisechantell and stay up-to-date on book signings, Interviews, book tours or upcoming speaking engagements.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
As a child, I struggled with fitting in because of a speech impediment. Often my words were paralyzed and I struggled to breakout my muteness to respond to questions. In order to get the words to move past my lips, I forced myself to smile big to break the silence for my words to flow. Being teased often, became the fuel that lit a fire in me. With practice and persistence, I learned how to speak in a way that was less triggering for my speech impediment. Music and writing poems gave me an outlet for expression that focused more on my thoughts and feelings and less on my inability to pronounce them. Over the years, I not only overcame the stuttering, but pushed passed learning disability and graduated from medical school. After my brain injury, I had an onset of strokelike symptoms. Walking and talking became difficult. I had uncontrollable drooling and tremors. However, what bothered me the most was my slurred speech, unable to communicate with my children and parents. I literally sounded like a babbling 9 month old. I was embarrassed, and felt like I was a burden because of my baby state circumstances. I was resilience, determined to break the silence once again. Like my childhood, I applied music to overcome my speech problem. Since I love to sing I just mumbled songs, in my mind, I was singing as hard as I could. I mostly song gospel music, seem to always put me in the realm of healing. I figured as long as I was exercising my vocals, somehow my speech would come back. I would also talk very very slowly to try and form words and sentences. Week by week the pace and sound in my speech improved. After a few weeks, my voice returned enough to say Hi I am back!
Do you think you’d choose a different profession or specialty if you were starting now?
Absolutely. The medical field has always been were I flourished and sprouted. Caring for others always brought a smile to my face and meaning to my life. I am naturally attracted to the medical profession. I get excited when patients get well, show improvement or recieved an unexplained healing. Even now, although my employment options has derailed I find ways to still carry on my passion and willingness to service others. Being an Author, gives me the flexibility to inspire and touch so many people lives! I can’t be in more than one place at the same time, but my book, and my words can.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.shawnisechantell.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authorshawnisechantell/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorShawniseChantell/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/author-shawnise-chantell-b99b63234
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/AuthorShawniseC?t=GpMQPA7fCWhihVW4Vm4vgg&s=01
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UC64XadiAXs8P_iv7Pym5AJg
- Other: Book can be purchased at: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, BAM, Powells, Indiebound
Image Credits
Book cover & Headshot: Snappy Sisters Photography