Achieving the title of nurse anesthetist can look like the perfect success story. And in many ways, it is — because for me, this was the dream I once thought was too big to reach. What people see today is the result: a full-time staff CRNA, owner of PH&PK Anesthesia Services, preceptor to CRNA students, and founder of Aspire2CRNA — and I am proud of that. But what isn’t visible at first glance is the unique path it took to get here — a path full of sacrifices and rewards — and the grit it required to keep going when quitting would have been so much easier.

Looking back, I’m almost glad my path didn’t lay itself out neatly in front of me. If it had, I might have assumed that everyone who achieved this dream followed a straight, mapped-out route — and I might have talked myself out of starting, because mine was anything but. It took me more than four years to finish an associate’s degree in business administration, and from there I bounced between jobs — customer service, retail, FedEx driving, even custodial and airport fireman work. They were honest jobs, and I gave my best to each of them, but they never felt like mine. Deep down I knew I was wasting potential. That truth hit hardest when my first child was born. Suddenly my choices were no longer just about me. I wanted my wife and daughter — and the two children who would follow — to be proud of me as both a husband and a father. So, at 32, with a wife and young kids at home, I started nursing school. At a time when most of my friends were a decade into stable careers, I was beginning again.

Nursing demanded compassion at its core — and that was part of me long before I put on scrubs. For the first time, I felt pulled forward instead of pushed along. I became an RN in 2007, went on to earn my BSN, and quickly found myself drawn to anesthesia. Caring for people at their most vulnerable and being trusted with their safety demanded not only deep compassion, but also the highest level of knowledge and skill. I wanted to be that person. After finishing twelve-hour overnight shifts, I spent mornings shadowing a CRNA whose calm confidence and expertise lit a spark in me — and in those hours, I knew this was the work I was meant to do.

Getting there wasn’t easy. The program I was accepted into was two hours from home, which meant living away from my wife and our three small kids during the week. I was the oldest in my class, sharing little in common with my peers, and I couldn’t work to help support my family at home. Still, my family believed in me, and together we carried the weight, reminding ourselves the success would be worth the struggle. When I finally sat for my boards, it felt like carrying every sacrifice to the summit — only to lose my footing at the very top. I failed the first time. But there was no time to wallow; too much had been invested, and too many people were counting on me. Every one of those struggles could have been an excuse to quit. Instead, they became the reasons to keep going. And in December 2015, I passed and officially became a CRNA.

The years since have been filled with opportunities I never could have imagined back in my FedEx truck or custodial uniform — though I also know I couldn’t have reached this place without those experiences. Sometimes the jobs that don’t align with your calling are the very ones that whisper you’re meant for something else.

Through Aspire2CRNA, I mentor high school and college students, nursing students, and RNs who are considering anesthesia. Together with my network of CRNAs, I provide the honest picture, the highs and the lows, so others can make informed choices about their own journey. There is no single path to success in this field. What matters is that you keep going, that you listen when something inside tells you you’re meant for more. And at the heart of it all, the real reward in this work isn’t the title or the paycheck — it’s helping people and proving to yourself that you can achieve what once felt impossible.

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