In a friendship that has spanned thirty years, though the ups and downs of life, you might wonder where will this begin?

It is without question in my mind that this begins the day my friend Gina gave birth to a beautiful baby girl named Ava. I know the badge of motherhood can change, shape and define a person, but watching Gina become a mother was life altering in a way I had never before witnessed.

Motherhood completed Gina. That may sound cliché and as I write I find it difficult to capture the depth of how motherhood has changed, defined and given purpose to Gina’s life.

While her journey into motherhood came with extreme joy, the path strayed into the difficult and eventually incomprehensible.

At a young age Ava was diagnosed with an Arachnoid Cyst and while that would have thrown most mothers for an emotional loop, Gina researched and asked questions, and researched some more. She sought out the best medical care and guidance and then settled into a life loving her beautifully spunky and intelligent daughter.

Two more siblings came along, Oskar and Lucy, and with each blessing Gina’s love for being a mom grew and so did her passion for caring for her children, and determination to give them a life of experiences, family and fun. To say Gina’s children are her life is an understatement.

The twists and turns of her journey with three little kids seemed typical at times, ear infections, sleepless nights, coughs, fevers, rashes, pain, but Gina knew in her heart that the way her children’s bodies responded to illness, climate change and daily life was not “typical”. She continued to research, she continued to ask questions and she continued to advocate for her children even when the messages she received from the medical community were less than receptive to her concerns for her children and their unique and sometimes complex response to the world around them.

Life changed for Gina and her family in a drastic way last summer. It is an experience that will forever be etched in my heart and I was only a witness to the month long hell Ava, Gina and Justin went through. I was not in the trenches of the worry, pain, stress, anxiety and every emotion possible that they experienced on a daily basis for those long and sometimes seemingly impossible days.

No one can truly know the pain, stress, heartache a parent feels when they have a child in the hospital for any amount of time much less a month plus. Most of Ava’s days were spent in excruciating pain, with a plan of care that changed almost daily. She went through multiple surgeries most of the time with doctors unable to predict the way Ava’s little body would respond to the care they gave her.

Through it all was Gina who, almost broken at times, was relentless in her advocating for Ava. Researching, analyzing, pushing for answers and asking questions.

Difficult experiences in life can break a person down, they can make a person bitter, but this made Gina stronger and more determined not only to find answers to the way her children’s genetic make-up affects their little bodies and how their bodies respond to the world around them, but she is determined to help all families who struggle to find answers for their children’s medical challenges and mysteries.

Gina has a brilliant mind, a heart of gold, and a passion for understanding the “why” in a world of medical unknown. She is also passionate about helping others. Wherever Gina goes she opens her heart to the stories of other parents, siblings, and families whose lives have been touched and affected by children who live in the world of the medically undiagnosed. Gina is driven to help other and she has a gift of opening doors and making connections for those that may not have the emotional, intellectual or financial wherewithal to do so on their own.

Gina left Children’s Hospital of Milwaukee with a mission. She left with a determined heart. Determined to get answers for her children. Determined to help others find answers. Determined to do great things for her children and other children and families who can easily drown in navigating our complex medical world.

Meet Gina and you will find yourself pulled into her beautiful heart. Take a moment to talk to her and you will be inspired and moved to join her on her search for answers and journey to help others.