Today we’d like to introduce you to Vanessa Bedoya.
Hi Vanessa, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’m a strong believer in that life shapes who we turn out to be. That said, I am a mom, first-generation American, middle child, black belt with an ACE (Adverse Childhood Experience) score of 7 that has MS (Multiple Sclerosis). I have a passion for helping people battling health problems and my current focus is helping Miami Dade County start a grassroots initiative for stopping and mitigating ACEs in this community.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I’m hesitant to even begin to answer. I have worked on Choice MD, behind the scenes, for over 11 years. I’ve launched 3 iterations of Choice MD, mainly because of timing. I chose to put everything on hold after getting pregnant with my daughter. Once my daughter was in kindergarten, I decided I would have the time and energy needed to start over. Things went phenomenally well for about 6 months and then the pandemic hit. I didn’t give in, in any area of my life. I helped my daughter with her schooling while working on Choice MD. I realized in those moments that if you really want something, not even a worldwide pandemic can stop your efforts. On the contrary, it was in those moments that I found how vitally important Choice MD could be for society and I pushed harder than I ever did. I also realized that my daughter had ADHD so now I was up against helping a child with ADHD learn virtually while living with chronic fatigue from my MS, it was the most exhausting period of my life. All things considered, I’m incredibly proud to say my daughter is an honor roll student and Choice MD won two awards during the pandemic.
We’ve been impressed with Choice MD, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Choice MD was founded on the basis of solving issues consumers face when searching for healthcare resources. I suppose I consider myself an expert in this area as I have lived with health complications most of my life. I’m grateful and blessed to say that as serious as my health complications are, they only stand as a daily reminder of what needs to be done to fix the system. All things considered, I promise I’m working diligently, pivoting at every necessary opportunity, to craft the optimal platform for all entities in the medical field. I started living with the complications of Multiple Sclerosis at age 21 and that diagnosis changed the whole trajectory of my life. After years of dealing with depression and feeling lost, I finally connected with the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, and I learned first-hand how vitally important these nonprofits were for the success of patients with health complications. Then of course, life happened and every time I moved cities I was up against the same obstacles. How and where do I go to find resources in my city? As you can see, Choice MD was started to fill a need and from my experiences, I began to conceptualize a platform to help everyone. For patients, we are a one-stop shop connecting patients to all health-related community resources. For the medical community, we are outreach specialists connecting them to individuals in their specific market looking for their services. To our nonprofit partners, we are a continuation of their marketing efforts, always promising to advertise free of charge as we appreciate the work they do and it’s our way of giving back.
After the pandemic, I recognized that the need for an organization like Choice MD was greater than ever. This worldwide event had affected everyone’s life, and not for the better; every child on the planet had been stressed with new adverse experiences that increased their potential ACE score and made them susceptible to chronic diseases like mine in later life. My mission for Choice MD had just grown and we started working on an ACEs initiative. This is what will be my legacy, it is these small initial steps to address improving the health of everyone now and in the future
We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
That’s a valid question and I feel the answer evolves with our lives. At this stage in life, and after working so hard on our ACEs campaign, I feel my definition of success has changed. I used to think of success as obtaining as many goals that you have set for yourself. Now it is more likely to include making life better for the following generations by leaving a positive legacy.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.choicemd.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/choicemd.miami
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChoiceMD
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/ChoiceMD
Image Credits
Socially Intuit
