REFLECTIONS
The Space Between Clouds and Stars
By Gabrielle Ward-Collier
Medicine is woven into my life, in ways both chosen and unchosen. Diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes as a small child, I learned early what it means to live with vigilance, resilience, and hope. I grew up fluent in glucose checks, insulin dosing, and the quiet discipline required to manage a chronic condition. My endocrinologist and pediatrician were steady anchors in my care. They taught me to understand my body, ask questions, and take ownership of my health. That early partnership with medicine shaped how I understand healthcare today as something done with patients, not to them.
Today, I am pursuing my nursing education at the University of Michigan – Flint, carrying those lessons with me into every course, clinical concept, and reflection. My path to nursing was not linear or convenient, but it was deeply intentional. It is grounded in lived experience, shaped by responsibility, and guided by a sense of purpose that continues to grow.
Years later, I returned to the healthcare system from a very different place, not as a patient, but as a mother. My daughter was born with hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy, which later manifested as spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy and epilepsy. Navigating her complex care immersed me in a world of neurology, feeding challenges, therapy schedules, and long-term planning. Once again, my life revolved around medicine, this time not for my own survival, but for hers.
Those early days were filled with fear and uncertainty. We were given diagnoses and possibilities, but very little language for how to live inside them. What ultimately carried us forward was not just medical intervention, but connection. Finding families who had walked this path before us and who could name the fear while still speaking of possibility changed everything. Community support filled the silence with understanding, offered reassurance in the quiet hours, and showed us that children could adapt and thrive in ways no chart could predict. That support became a kind of lighthouse, steady and grounding, guiding us forward when everything felt dark.
We do not live in those moments anymore. We remember them, honor them, and use them as a catalyst rather than a home. What they gave me was clarity. I began to see how deeply healthcare shapes families and how much responsibility and influence exists within the system for those who choose to practice with intention. I understood with certainty that I wanted to be part of the care team, someone who could help translate medicine into understanding and fear into confidence.
Choosing nursing was both personal and purposeful. In the short term, I wanted to better care for my daughter and advocate effectively within complex medical systems. In the long term, I want to empower children and families facing lifelong conditions to feel informed, capable, and supported. Nursing allows me to transform lived experience into advocacy, knowledge, and meaningful service. It is work that requires steadiness and vision, being fully present in the moment while still reaching toward what is possible.
Nursing school is unfolding alongside real life. I study endocrinology with the lived experience of managing Type 1 diabetes since childhood. I learn about neurodevelopmental conditions while attending my daughter’ s therapy sessions and celebrating progress measured not in milestones, but in persistence. I balance coursework at the University of Michigan – Flint with blended family responsibilities, postpartum recovery, and caregiving. These realities do not compete with my education. They deepen it and keep me grounded in why this work matters.
Living with chronic illness and raising a medically complex child has taught me perseverance, adaptability, and deep empathy. I have learned how vital it is to be
January 2026 35