MEET BURGESS, NURSE PRACTITIONER
& FOUNDER OF ORIGO
Driven by an early passion for medicine, Burgess first entered the medical field at just 14 years of age as a volunteer at a hospital near her home. After spending a summer in Tucson, where her family member underwent a lifesaving heart surgery, she soon realized her desire to care for critically ill patients . She went on to work three years in the Trauma ICU as a Registered Nurse and later as a Nurse Practitioner. with a focus in Neurocritical Care and Neurosurgery.
One of her most memorable experiences in medicine was volunteering with her church medical mission in Malawi, Africa where her team assessed and treated hundreds in pop-up clinics. Burgess said the people of Malawi, having what we as Americans viewed as so little, were the happiest people she had ever met.
In her years working in the hospital setting, Burgess saw the devastations of recurrent hospitalizations for conditions which could have been otherwise prevented. This was enough inspiration for her to obtain additional certification in Functional Medicine with the Institute of Functional Medicine with courses led by Mark Hyman, Terry Wahls, Elizabeth Boham, and more.
When she isn't seeing patients, Burgess enjoys cooking new recipes, entertaining friends with dinner parties, embarking on weekend getaways with her husband, watching documentaries about historical people and events, and hikes with her German Short Haired Pointer.
THE REASONS BEHIND A FAITH-BASED PRACTICE
I like many women, know what it is like to feel as if your body is failing you. Debilitating fatigue, decades of stomach issues, and painful cycles were my normal. I would leave Doctor visits only to sit in my car googling symptoms of hopes of finding my own answers. I was continuously left without solutions- only more medications and basic labs showing “everything is normal!”. I felt utterly defeated and the more I tried to control my health, the less control I actually had.
At this time I was working in an acute care setting - our culture was to adjust medications until you made the symptoms go away. I realized how silencing the body’s cries for help, including my own, would only lead to another unpleasant symptom. I knew I needed to change course - and quick.
FAITH IS FUNDAMENTAL
I decided to surrender it all, I asked the Lord to bring me answers and to heal my body. I was amazed at what came next.The Lord brought me friends and people I respected in the community who told me about Functional Medicine. Through my own Functional Medicine journey, my symptoms were reduced by 75% without pharmaceuticals. The Lord paved the way for me to become certified in the speciality so that I could help other women who are in the same position I once was.
Whatever we think we can achieve on our own, the Lord can provide 100 fold. For me, there is no other way to practice.Faith in the Lord’s abilities will always be fundamental.
With gratitude,
Burgess