42 years ago today my mother, Judy Bright, kindly gave birth to me. For those that don't know my mom she is a certified nurse midwife and advanced nurse practictioner who currently works as the director of a county health and human services department. Most of her professional career has been in public health.
My mother has always been a role model for my sisters and me. She volunteers as an EMT, with a Search and Rescuse K-9 unit, and the U.S. Coast Auxiliary.
She has spent her entire adult life in service to others and has always been a strong voice for women. As a child, she took me to protest for the inclusion of women students at the then all-male Citadel in Charleston, S.C. (a battle that was finally won). When many white families fled public schools in the South after intergration she and my father made the decision to put me in public schools and to work for their improvement. The lessons I learned from her as a child have stayed with me.
For my birthday - as my mom battles cancer - I want to invite my friends and readers of this blog to make a contribution in her honor to the American Cancer Society. I could think of no better birthday gift. Cancer touches so many people and the fight to end it is something we can all get behind. The American Cancer Society is an important force in that fight and I urge you to donate as I have. Thank you.
Acknowledments can be sent to:
Judy Bright, CNM, ARNP, MPA
c/o Wahkiakum County Health and Human Services
PO Box 696
Cathlamet, WA 98612
(The picture above is with my mom and my father, the late C. Stephen Currie, and was taken when I was a month old.)
