Not every calling begins with a clear sign. It can take a detour, a moment of serendipity or a glimpse into a world previously unseen. For labor and delivery nurse Makaila, her path to nursing began not with textbooks or clinical rotations, but with a twist of fate and a missed opportunity.
In her senior year, Makaila had her heart set on becoming an orthopedic surgeon. A chance to shadow a surgeon seemed like a pivotal step—until she was told she couldn’t observe the surgery. Disappointed, she was casually redirected to shadow a nurse instead. That single change in plan set her entire future into motion.
“I fell in love with nursing. I felt there was a more intimate relationship that you get with your patients.”
What Makaila found wasn’t just a job, it was a calling. The personal connection, the deep rapport with patients and the opportunity to be present in life-defining moments lit a spark in her. The moment that sealed her decision came when she witnessed her first live birth.
In that room, amidst the tension and the miracle of new life, she knew she had found her purpose.
For nearly 12 years, Makaila has been a steady presence in delivery rooms, a guide and comfort through the most intense and vulnerable moments of her patients' lives. Labor and delivery, she explains, is a field of extremes. Exhilaration and heartbreak walk hand in hand.
“We see life and we see death…it's what we take home, and it's what we treat every day.”
Supporting women during childbirth has brought her countless moments of joy, but also profound sorrow. The pain of loss—of hearing the cry of a grieving mother—is the hardest part of the job, a burden she carries silently.
Amid the emotional highs and lows, it’s often the simplest moments that keep Makaila going. A quiet “thank you.” A grateful smile. A moment of shared humanity. And when the shift ends, she returns home to her own daughter, her grounding force, her comfort and her daily reminder of why this work matters so deeply.
Makaila’s journey reminds us that sometimes, the detour is the destination. That through heartbreak and hope, vulnerability and strength, the truest vocations are not chosen. They find you.
