Support Josh in Helping to Provide OBGYN Care

Over the past year in Wilmington, I've had the privilege of caring for patients and exploring various medical specialties. While many paths intrigued me, I hadn’t considered OB/GYN until my clerkship. In fact, I actively denied any interest in the field as a potential specialty choice.

But, the immense joy of delivering (or as some people say, "catching") my first baby and assisting in my first cesarean section was truly life changing.

And since then, I’ve had the honor of delivering several babies, first assisting in cesarean sections, and caring for mothers facing high-risk pregnancies. As a male caring for people throughout their pregnancies, I consistently find myself amazed by the strength and resilience of this special patient population. I am certainly not the most religious person, but sharing in the gift of life and miracle of childbirth is a blessing to me.

Yet, OB/GYN care is not without heartbreak. There are no correct words for a patient grieving a miscarriage or battling advanced ovarian or endometrial cancer. In those dark moments, I believe as providers we must feel and be present with the patient.

And, the labor and delivery unit is not immune from that reality. It is truly one place where you feel the highest highs and the lowest lows within a few hours of each other. One night, I watched a planned c-section for healthy twins—both babies delivered safely as the surgeon casually conversed with the patient over the sterile curtain.

However, just a few hours earlier, I had rushed a mother from triage to the OR for a stat c-section due to a severe infection that caused her water to break at 22 weeks. Despite resuscitation efforts, her baby did not survive. Later, when she emerged from anesthesia, I found her holding her child with tears streaming down her face, without family or a friend to provide comfort. That moment shattered me and has stuck with me.

These experiences—beautiful and tragic—have deepened my sense of purpose and gratitude. They fuel my desire to become the best physician I can be for my patients and to advocate for those navigating immensely vulnerable moments. It is why I’m driven to couple my medical education with a legal one, in hopes that no patient is delayed or denied life-saving care—a reality that has sadly become more commonplace over the past few years.

The United States has the highest maternal mortality rates of any developed country—more than double the next highest (France, in case you are curious). This is unacceptable, and we must demand better.

As part of my personal mission, I’ve decided to travel to Tanzania this summer to assist in maternal care. I hope to be an extra set of hands for the OB/GYNs caring for patients experiencing pregnancy, to immerse myself in learning and adapting in resource-limited settings, and to continue growing both personally and professionally. I have also made it my goal to summit Mt. Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest peak, at the conclusion of my trip to Tanzania.

If you have made it this far, thank you for taking the time to share in my experiences. And, if you feel compelled, I humbly ask for your support—whether through words of encouragement or other means— to help me pursue this mission to better care for patients and grow in self. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

With love and gratitude,

Josh