With the Lord’s help, Moore keeps beating odds
Gwen Moore has been beating the odds with the Lord’s help since April 1984 following a life-threatening automobile accident as a teenager left her in bad shape.
Moore suffered a broken back, pneumothorax, and multiple cuts and bruises. However, she fought valiantly through multiple surgeries and rehabilitation to “have a life.”
Moore had a strong support system in her family and friends, but one person’s support really stuck out. She had a nurse at the University of Mississippi Medical Center who showed her “tough love,” and “really pushed” her to recover. “At this point, I had two options, one – curl up and die, or two – pick myself up, dust off, and try again,” she said. And That’s exactly what Moore did and continues to do.
Moore recalls, “She was exactly what I needed.” The nurse encouraged her to “give it her all.” When Moore was in Tennessee for two months, relearning all the basic needs of life, the nurse’s encouragement stayed with her. “In the 80s, there was not much known about paraplegics. The one thing the doctors gave was a life expectancy of 15 years. “I decided at that moment that I was going to prove the doctor’s statement wrong,” she said.
Moore would finish up her rehabilitation and return to Mississippi as a freshman in high school. As a child, she wanted to be a veterinarian, but the wreck changed her perspective.
She knew she wanted to do something different, but she wasn’t sure what direction. God would have to take the wheel she decided. “I wasn’t sure what God had in store for me, but I knew that He would be with me the whole way,” she said.
In 1990, after being told she would never have children, Moore welcomed a son who is now grown, and he’s made her a grandmother. At this point in her life, Moore had beat the odds not once but twice – outliving her diagnosis and having a child. She met her husband, Bart, in 2009. “He’s my biggest fan and supporter. I’m so thankful God led me to him. He has shared my ups and downs and been by my side through this journey.”
In 2016, Moore took a job with Neshoba General as a front desk clerk in the ER. It was then that she saw what the other side of the medical profession looked like. “I would watch the nurses with amazement, thinking I would love to do what they do to help patients.” However, Moore wasn’t sure if she could do that. She would move to a position inside one of the clinics, and that’s when she began talking to the nurses about their careers. Like the nurse at UMMC, these nurses encouraged Moore to go for it: “You would be a great nurse!”
In 2022, Moore applied to the LPN program at Meridian Community College, and this August, Moore graduated. She successfully passed her board examinations shortly thereafter. Moore says that she would like to further her education by earning her RN as well.
“I think back on my life, and no, it was not easy. I had bad days, but the good days outweighed them. I think those bad days helped shape who I am today. I’m just Gwen Moore, LPN,” she said.
“What I want people to know is if you have a disability, it doesn’t have to define who you are. Make the most of what you have. Live your life. Your options are limitless because, with God, all things are possible.”