Ep 158: They Gave Her Daughter a 0% Chance to Live. The Trauma That Followed Broke Her.

Today’s episode of Flip Your Mindset is one of those conversations that sits with you, one that changes the way you see the systems we trust.My guest is Lisa Ramos, a doctoral candidate and the founder of the Trauma-Informed Care Institute. Her story begins with a parent’s absolute worst nightmare: watching her child fight for her life in the ICU.In 2015, her 15-month-old daughter was exposed to MRSA. It spiraled into a catastrophic medical crisis. She was diagnosed with spinal meningitis, RSV, and MRSA all at the same time. After a medication mistake put her in a coma, Lisa knew something was wrong. But as she and her husband tried to advocate, they were dismissed. As Lisa said, “they didn’t listen to us because we weren’t medical professionals”.Her daughter’s MRSA abscess burst, and she was given “no chance of survival”.Miraculously, after 23 agonizing days, her daughter survived.But this is where the real story begins.The crisis was over, but Lisa was “broken mentally”. She came home consumed by survivor’s guilt. Why was she struggling when her daughter had survived?Her body was shutting down. She couldn’t get out of bed. She was in constant physical pain , suffering from heart palpitations, digestive issues, and reproductive problems. She was eventually diagnosed with PTSD.What I found so powerful in our conversation was Lisa’s realization that her trauma wasn’t just about the fear of losing her child. It was about the “loss of, of autonomy, that loss of just the ability to do anything”. The medical professionals had given them “no autonomy, no choice” , which triggered her own childhood wounds of not having her voice heard.Her nervous system was stuck.This is something I think so many of us can relate to on different levels. We have these patterns, these physical responses, and we can’t figure out why. We feel broken.This is why this episode is so fittingly sponsored by the H.E.R.T. self-assessment. It’s a free tool I want you all to check out. It’s designed to help you gain clarity on your own emotional well-being and discover those hidden patterns from past experiences that might be holding you back.You can discover your results at flipyourmindset.com/hurt. That’s H-U-R-R-T.When Lisa tried to get help, the system failed her again. She was told she couldn’t see the same therapist consistently.So, she did the most incredible thing. She decided, “I have to regain my own power”. In her 30s, with a house full of children, she went back to college to get a psychology degree so she could figure out how to heal herself.That journey led her to create the Trauma-Informed Care Institute, and her mission is one I am 100% behind. She’s teaching medical professionals, teachers, and parents that being “trauma-informed” isn’t just about setting up a room so the yoga mats face the door.It’s about the professional understanding their own triggers, their own coping mechanisms, and their own compassion fatigue. It’s about giving the patient a “sense of agency” and a choice to restore their power.This hit home for me. I shared my own story of being diagnosed with three different autoimmune conditions, all rooted in extreme inflammation. I know that inflammation was my body’s response to my own childhood—it was my nervous system trying to protect me.The link between our unresolved emotional experiences and our physical health is real.I want to leave you with the single most important thing Lisa said, which is a core truth of this podcast:“Every behavior, every action, every reaction has a purpose... That is not a broken piece of you. That is your nervous system doing exactly what it was designed to do.”This is an episode every single person needs to hear. Please listen, and then share it.We cannot heal what we don’t understand.All my best, StaceyEpisode Links* Guest: Lisa Ramos, founder of the Trauma-Informed Care Institute.* Learn More from Lisa: traumainformedcareinstitute.comThis episode is sponsored by the H.U.R.R.T. self-assessment.It’s a free tool designed to help you gain clarity on your emotional well-being and discover hidden patterns from past experiences that might be holding you back.You can discover your results at: flipyourmindset.com/hurt. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit flipyourmindset.substack.com/subscribe