According to the Center for Disease Control*, over 7.4 million women have received treatments for infertility. However, many women suffer in silence. Gessie Thompson knows firsthand how painful it is to desire children but not be able to conceive. Gessie personally battled fibroids for 14 years, underwent five fibroid surgeries, five IVF cycles, and a devastating miscarriage. However, after ten years of struggles, she became pregnant with her miracle baby girl, Nia. Gessie is a best selling author, speaker and Fibroid & Fertility Coach. She is passionate about helping other women overcome infertility through a naturopathic program without surgery. *(2006-2010 National Survey of Family Growth, CDC)
have you ever wanted to have a
conversation with someone but you don’t
have enough time maybe you’re just
rushed to get to the next thing and you
can’t continue the conversation you
can’t ask all the questions that you
want to ask that happens to me all the
time which is why this conversation that
we’re going to have today is so
important because it’s one that’s been
on my heart for a while I can’t wait for
you to hear from our guest today stay
tuned
[Applause]
[Music]
I am so glad you’re here if you have not
already heard part one of my
conversation with our incredible guest
today please make sure you you know
search around and click on part one
because you’re gonna want to make sure
that you get the lowdown on all the
details that we’ve been talking about
with this incredible woman who has had a
life change so to speak a lot of hard
things have happened in our life but
really they’ve changed the trajectory of
her life for the better
in that she’s telling her story to as
many people as she can’t she can and
getting them the help that they need
would you please help me welcome back
for a second conversation miss Jessie
Thompson it’s so cute in your little
white shirt thank you and you said that
white is the color of fibroids awareness
fibroids awareness it’s a big deal
because I bet mostly women are in our
audience then I bet if we had a showing
of hands either they are struggling with
it or somebody they know close to them
absolutely is struggling with it and it
can be completely detrimental in the
sense that for you your major symptom
was infertility that was how you knew
there was there was trouble in paradise
yeah and we’ve got 10 years yeah you
told us in part one 10 years of
infertility treatments hundreds of
thousands of dollars spent and then
finally your sweet miracle daughter yes
that we show nothing a few minutes ago
she came in like a whirlwind yeah she is
beautiful baby now I’m curious to know
did she surprise you guys were you in
the process of trying to have a baby at
the moment that you conceived or were
you kind of at the point where you had
given up and you’re like done with the
whole thing
so after our fourth IVF cycle and third
myomectomy I just came to a point where
I hit a wall hotbed yeah I was like God
do I hear you saying adoption mmm-hmm
what oh yes which is an honorable choice
and that’s what I’m Joyce we believe in
adoption yeah I mean we’re grafted in
right yes I believe in adoption and I
was like my husband and I always felt
like that was really an important it was
something we wanted to consider doing
any
and I was like you know what I’ve been
through too much at this point and I
just I said God but I knew I didn’t know
this I said God if it’s what you’ve
ordained I’m gonna give you a Gideon now
I’m I need to know but I need to know
but because we couldn’t get pregnant
naturally we literally had to do IVF my
thing was God if this really is then
we’ll do the next IVF cycle and you know
I went to really I really hit the my
knees I really started to seek the Lord
Lord I need to know this is not
something I’m just gonna do cuz I’m
gonna go ahead and do another one I need
to know and he made it very clear
through different voices different
people in my life and you know just
things that were being echoed in terms
of stuff my husband he was saying to my
husband of course but my husband was so
amazing he was like listen this is your
body you know I want a biological child
but I I’m not the one on the operating
table yeah this is something you need to
hear from the Lord for yourself and I
was kind of mad cuz I wanted to just
like just what do you what is it low I
say to you because like no you need and
this is really important because I
didn’t realize that you know when we’re
about to go through something the Lord
won’t give us a word and it was really
critical because I I was I was praying
about it I got confirmation and then my
mother – my godmother she just out of
the blue she didn’t even know what I was
battling like and what I was praying
about cuz I was really keeping it close
to the vest and she says to me Jesse I
went to a prayer meeting and I stood in
the gap for you and they said to me that
this time next year you will be holding
your baby this time next year now she
didn’t know that that actually was right
in alignment with what we ended up doing
because if we did the next IVF cycle
this time next year we would have
literally haven’t had the baby a year a
month better right
so it was right in alignment but even
more than that we had so many struggles
in the pregnancy where even after I got
pregnant 21 weeks they said that there
was a condition that I had
at 21 weeks they told me I might want to
consider terminating my pregnancy this
pregnancy that took us 10 years did you
consider it even for a second not for a
second I told them I said listen I said
we were people of faith it took us 10
years at this point yeah I said we’re
people getting me to leave in weeks if I
loved itself as a miracle you believe in
miracles Yeah right and and five weeks
later we were hospitalized because the
condition worsened then they had the
neonatal people telling me all these
things about how the baby was gonna be
born when they cried like literally they
were like within 72 hours you’re gonna
have this baby because after this
condition happens when it worsens like
this it’s called fetal growth
restriction and then his reversal blood
flow so the five words had come back and
they were pulling the life blood away
from my child so when I say she fought
to get here she fought to get here you
know how much so how many weeks so that
weekend the doctor says well we’re
hoping your money your wife makes it
through this weekend because within 72
hours textbook I was supposed to give
birth to the tune of eight more weeks I
was still in that hospital eight more
weeks eight more weeks she’s never done
what anybody’s ever so then she’s in a
safe city board like the doctors even
told I said they said mrs. Thompson you
know we have to apologize to you because
we didn’t want to scare you but you have
to understand textbook this doesn’t
happen I love this so much yes because
there’s a great physician who has when
he chooses to it’s his it’s his choice
but when he chooses to he can override
Textron sistex and all that he’s a
single one he’s the great position
everything ended up eight weeks later
and then they then at that point they
were like well she’s the baby’s ready
and you don’t have to have emergency
surgery if we schedule it and they did
it you know he had some more complicated
was that celebration like when that baby
was born well I had multiple
complications from the surgery because I
my heart stopped on the operating table
so it was crazy
you just glazed over that like it was no
big deal oh I’m
you’re right so I said it so we went
into surgery and all of us all I know is
things went like black and they all my
husband they could get him out of here
get him out of here
and they said mrs. Thompson you’re gonna
hear the baby cry and then everything
that’s gonna go black and then they put
me under general anesthesia the
c-section then they put me under general
anesthesia and all I knew is I had a
chai was okay and my husband he was
freaking out he’s like what happened hmm
so because of how long it took from all
the scarring how long it took for them
to get to my child
tanea it basically caused my heart to
stop and when I say like it was a lot of
healing right so I didn’t get to touch
her until the next day you know I I
literally had to be wheeled to her I had
so much of a long road in terms of
healing yeah but it was I you know I
remember that first time I held her and
she was in an incubator she’s so tiny
all the nurses said the same bat-channel
is feisty in that job when to one nurse
said she says I don’t know who this
child is gonna be but I hope I’m around
to see how she changes the world wow
that’s awesome I was like we would
concur with the nurse that she’s she is
going to change the world that girl is
something else
oh but literally she has changed my life
I say it’s great I gave birth to her but
she birthed me into my purpose she did
because here you are little bit on this
sofa amongst you know many that you many
conversations you’ve had places that
you’ve been invited to speak your book
has gone out to so many people who are
being made aware of really the issue and
who feel license now they feel inspired
to open up their mouth and say here’s
where I’m struggling right how can I get
some help for that and I love the
organization that you have because it’s
helping women practically to figure out
can you give us I mean you know we’re
gonna we’re gonna put online how people
can find you and where they can get more
information but even like I was asking
you in the back as we were eating dinner
just a little while ago
what are would you say just some
practical health things whether it’s
eating or whatever else you would
suggest that you have
releasing revolutionize women’s health
men and women but particularly in this
case a women just sort of label those
things for somebody that sit on the
other side of the screen going what can
I start doing tomorrow to start helping
to put myself in a better place sure
health wise very first thing you have to
do is decide that I’m taking ownership
for my health that’s number one because
too many people feel like my health is
my doctor’s responsibility we say no no
healing is God’s job but it’s your
responsibility right so you have to do
the work of a learning mindful right so
once you decide that and you put that
mindset on then it’s understand that the
way God designed our bodies is to use
your food as your medicine so that’s
what we teach people to do is to use
food as your medicine once you realize
that my food is actually healing or
hurting me you think twice about what
you’re putting in your body yeah right
because you’re like oh wait a minute
this is actually having one or two
impacts right now yeah and I understand
that I don’t just want to eat to not be
hungry most people eat to just not be
hungry they don’t eat actually to heal
their bodies right so once you that’s a
big part of our program is helping
people make that mindset okay we need to
settle in here for a little bit on this
issue because I just think this is such
a hard thing huge in our culture
particularly those of us I know there
might there are lots of people who watch
and they do not live in the western part
of the world or they don’t live in
America but particularly for those of us
who do this struggle is huge for me
right now I mentioned it a few moments
ago jokingly with the people that are in
our audience because we live in a
country that is not helpful in this way
so they they are approving our country
is approving all sorts of genetically
modified on everything yeah and that’s
what’s available to us
so a person you know you know an average
American going into their local
supermarket that doesn’t have the funds
to spend on organic everything which the
label says that but it’s not necessarily
that but you’re going into your grocery
store to just buy the healthiest bread
so as far as you can tell that’s it or
the healthiest meat that you can in
at grocery store or vegetables but if
that’s all that is available to you what
what is the power how does a mom yeah
there’s a mom with a bunch of kid yeah
sons and daughters she’s trying to feed
absolutely how does she make wise
choices when that’s what the grocery
store has so you’ve so many layers of
what she just said right there number
one is understanding okay as a Christian
we know the difference between the
narrow road and the broad road right so
narrow is a path meaning the road to
disease is broad okay it’s broad it’s
easy it’s cheap and it’s popular and
it’s fast food yeah that’s why it’s easy
right everywhere you turn but the road
to healing is narrow it’s more expensive
and it’s less popular right so the very
first thing is deciding I’m worth it my
health is worth and I say this I can’t
say this enough because it’s gonna drive
your decision-making right it’s very
critical to understand that my health is
worth it the health of I’m not just
keeping them from having you know from
from being sick right now but I’m
keeping them from developing things like
diabetes and cancer and those are more
expensive in the long run
right yeah and understanding that I I
want to keep my child from having heart
disease all those kind of things the
second thing is understanding what foods
are healthy and what are not so you got
to get educated yeah right and there I
mean like I said we have a free food
list for people to understand what foods
are inflammatory what’s not right and
then you can know that literally in your
regular grocery store their food markets
there are farmers markets where they
have locally grown produce and you don’t
have to have the organic label if you
understand that if I actually want to
know if something is organic or not cuz
pesticides are a very important thing
okay the pesticides actually they
they’re toxins that will pollute our
bodies they poison our bodies so but you
can find that all over wherever and
they’re seeds like Monsanto they’re
seeds that are actually growing they’re
killing your food from the inside out
it’s terrible what’s happening in the
food industry right now but here’s the
deal you can know for yourself you go to
a farmers market let’s say you buy a
pack of blueberries you want to know
this is a local farmers growing this and
I want to know if it’s organic you could
put it in a mason jar watch for 72 hours
if it becomes white
and fuzzy it’s not organic but if it
just withers and Browns it is without
the organic label it’s just locally
grown so that’s a way you can save you
zoom saying it’s understanding wait a
minute if I look at foods that are
locally grown my produce and then a lot
of the Kroger’s they have a great
organic Department but like I said with
farmers markets and food co-ops that are
popping up especially after what the
health after what the hell anybody watch
what the health so if y’all heard of
what the health yeah I documented dared
to watch it because I everybody that
watch it because you don’t eat anything
that is an animal product right okay is
that a choice that you made after the
struggle or was that some way you
already ate no I actually so after my
last surgery I ended up in full-blown
menopause okay so it can fell over you
forty-four years old okay but the
menopause was not just oh you’re
menopausal no I had severe symptoms that
you could not live with okay and I knew
I needed some sort I was I needed help
and I was a traditionalist I was the
last thing from a natural ista that you
ever ten surgeries right okay but my
mother was like they wanted to put me on
the hormone replacement drugs and I mean
there’s tons of research that shows that
they accelerate the development of
cancer and I was not about to go bout to
go from menopause to cancer okay so I
said alright you know what I’m gonna
believe God for natural remedy I’m fine
like okay God fine okay I’ll look into
it yeah but you know what happens I
started I got the patch and I use it for
a little bit and I had a little bit of
relief and one day God said alright you
think I’m playing I’m sitting there in
my office and he says take it off now I
took it off it’s like a little band-aid
I just how startled you know this gives
you a word sometimes okay alright then
and I took it off and within like two
weeks he connected me with these
naturopathic doctors that I so that I’ve
partnered with and developed the program
what cancer let me hop in real quick
because I want to separate two things
what you’re saying with with sort of
your spiritual connection with these
choices that you were making that’s not
the same thing as saying God heal me
it’s go do you take your health into
your own hands
well let me give you some wisdom on how
to use what I have given you and the
resources I’ve given you on this planet
to heal yourself no it’s a combination
I’m gonna tell you okay go ahead the
reason I say it’s a combination is
because some plant some water but God
gives the increase yes right I mean I’m
Emily it’s all him right oh please
he’s make he’s designed the body to heal
itself right right but here I am asking
you God to heal me from high blood
pressure but I mean Fried Chicken right
right so call out bad chicken
specifically that’s the gospel bird girl
but here’s the deal ya week we have to
say wait a minute God says I give you
wisdom I give you information
right and this is funny I remember I was
at that event where we talked about I
had a major conversation at the lunch
table and I said listen in the Garden of
Eden what did God tell us to eat and
they said the plants right food from the
fruit from the trees plants of the earth
I said and what did the animals eat
anybody can anybody answer that what did
the animals eat the Garden of Eden
plants plants they didn’t eat us the the
the the the animals were our friends not
our food right and I’m not an animal
rights person like you know this is not
about that this is about what God has
called us and what he’s when how he
allows our bodies to actually work
optimally yeah right he is he’s a
miracle worker and he does things in
spite of us but isn’t it time that we
become the heroes in the story of our
healing instead of the accomplices in
the story of our disease yeah yeah I
understand that right so for that it’s
education so it’s a combination so for
the you know the regular everyday
working parents who doesn’t think she
can shut down you know meet for example
something big and broad like that for
her sons or her you know her husband
would not even imagine a life without me
if she this is why to do a family
intervention number one thing do a thing
all y’all watch what the hell together
tell you you have to start with
education yeah you do a family
intervention and then from there you
start doing in you transition and you do
replacements of things that they would
never even believe that they’re healthy
when they taste them because they’re so
delicious okay right and once you start
doing that little by little it could be
the juices that you drink the fruit that
you have in the morning right and then
there are certain things that don’t have
to be organic like cantaloupe honeydew
watermelons even mango and avocado
they’re on that there’s something called
the Dirty Dozen and the clean 15 list
and those things that are on the clean
15 don’t have to be organic because
they’re grown in a way they’re that
they’re actually cleaner but that helps
you to just start making it’s a journey
yeah right
it’s a journey it’s a lifestyle what we
tell people is you know you didn’t
happen you didn’t come here overnight
right so give yourself be patient with
yourself and take steps so you know for
somebody who’s dealing with a health
crisis they’re gonna be more motivated
to Cutco yeah because they’re trying to
save their lives I mean literally
and what else other than food would you
say is is one of your suggestions to
women who are strong stress so that’s a
huge part of our program as well as
stress management because you can be
eating right but you’re stressed the
toxins that are your body is being
flooded with on a regular basis cortisol
and that’s from pressure it’s not even
just anxiety from pressure you got
you’re on the road all the time you’ve
got all this stuff you got to go for
you’re rushing from one place to another
what does that do
pressurizes your body so weight margin
in our calendar margin yes breathing
room and also time to pause and be
silent and just listen I mean that
literally has a physiological asset just
it affects our body
yes impact what it does is actually
helps to unblock your meridians and
helps you to release the stress okay
because it stores up in your body you
ever noticed like you’re in the middle
of doing something and your shoulders
are hunched or your teeth are gritted
your your hands are tight why because
your story you literally been in a
pressure situation so we say to people
set a timer every two hours and do a
breath check just on your alarm just
stop
breathe and exhale for like a minute
just to release that stress out of your
life because what you’re doing is when
that cortisol is prepared is when that
that cortisol is present in your body it
actually up regulates the effect of the
toxins in your body so I’ll give you an
example 2014 was one of the best years
of my life but it was also one of the
worst years of my life because it was
high stress okay lot of stuff was going
on that was a fit made it like literally
the most stressful year of my life
fibroids money that I had tripled in
size and that one year because of stress
right so that’s why if you’re how did
you know it’s because of stress though
because everything else was the same
okay what’s that one thing that had yes
but I digress exactly and when I talked
to him and every day literally they can
be doing everything right but if they’re
not dealing with the margins if they’re
not learning that no is a complete
sentence if they’re not putting in
proper boundaries and if they’re not
actually when we say reexamine their
relationships we prioritize some
reposition some say no to certain things
say not now to others right yeah I
always say we need a no anointing on our
lives
that’s the loot we need a no anointing
that’s just to be able to have the to
not feel guilty at that’s the thing is
we feel so guilty if we need to say no
to someone or something and have some
margin our life even if because you know
every no is a simultaneous yes you’re
saying yes to something to something
whether it’s to be at your kids soccer
game yep or to have a Friday night where
you actually are just at home enjoying
being a self-care axing so something I
read in my devotional this week was know
first of all it’s a complete sentence
right I don’t have to tell you why as
well that’s the other thing if we say no
well that’s because now I don’t owe you
that necessarily depends on who you are
but no does not make me bad right
because no saying no to you sometimes
it’s the only way I can say yes to
myself yeah and understand that in order
for me to be able to say a healthy yes I
have to say it be able to say no to the
right things
yeah and understanding that that is a
huge part I say to people retire the
Cape take that cape off there are no
nacho soup
right exactly retired a cake because
guess what there are what is it I think
superheroes are not real for real women
are superheroes that’s great hey because
when you learn to actually be authentic
and real that’s when that God’s grace
multiplied unto you you ever do
something to me I was able to do that
when you have God’s grace on you right
yeah you learn to say no you learn to
say no to the right things and yes to
the right things and you learn that
saying yes to something means I have to
take something else off the list yeah
that’s another thing we keep adding
things to our list so if you’ve been and
that’s one of the exercises we do have
heard if you’re gonna say yes what do
you say what if you’re gonna start one
thing what are you gonna stop and I love
that this is so practical in every area
of our life because I’m thinking about
how I had a friend of mine say to me
Risa cuz I have a an affinity for white
shirts actually I love the look of crisp
white shirts of white so I just think
they’re beautiful so she said to me we
were kind of doing a little shopping I
think we were in tarjay tarjay and I was
grabbing another white shirt and she
said now if you if you get this white
shirt there need to be to that go she
said for every one thing you bring in
there need be glad it goes thank ya very
good so you’re not only are our lives
cluttered but our spaces our clutter our
drawers are cluttered our pantries are
cluttered our freezers are cluttered so
we don’t even know that that that what
we were gonna eat is way back there in
the back we forgot about it from three
months ago because we’ve put so much
stuff in our space that now we can’t
even enjoy the things that we that we
have anymore they’re not even gifts
anymore now we’re frustrated we’re
overwhelmed we’re wearing the same thing
over and over and over because it’s all
we can see in our closet with the mound
of stuff that’s on the floor so just to
your point that if we don’t have the
discipline if we’re taking one thing
into our calendar or space yeah then we
need to take some other things out these
are good these are political because
that’s about it if I keep just adding
I’m now being crushed under the pressure
yeah yeah and I’m that I’m carrying more
you were built to carry that right
that’s the other thing we teach is cast
your care not just cast it
it’s keep casting it all day every day
keep casting your care allow the Lord to
carry your burdens right the yoke means
he’s carrying us he’s pulling us in that
wagon we’re so used to being the pack
mule yeah
that we want to carry everything he’s
like I didn’t build you to do that so
your body’s breaking down your mental is
breaking down you’re not even able to be
who your purpose to be because you’re
doing what you weren’t born to do yeah
it’s good yeah when we do God can be
glorified that’s awesome hmm that’s
really great and I appreciate you I
appreciate you being willing to share
your story here not only on the sofa but
here in this book that you need to get
your hands on and share with your
friends who may be struggling with this
or maybe your own life just some miracle
stories in here but also I love that
what you’re offering and what we’ll put
a link so folks can connect to you
because you’re offering some practical
advice and some practical wisdom jessie
has made it her business this is her
life she’s made it her business to
really research at the beginning of this
you were like I don’t know anything
about five words I’m not am I supposed
to share with other than me but now you
have researched and studied and figured
out how it as we as women in particular
yeah but men as well so how we can take
control of our health and those
practical tips are necessary in this day
and age when we’ve got the culture that
sort of steering us in a stressful
directions and we might owe pressure and
high pressure we need a voice that says
hey it’s okay yeah say no it’s okay to
take the narrow path and eat differently
than everybody else is eating for you
and your family and yummy and if you
stop and say is yummy that’s really the
question it’s delicious it is I mean the
other day I made this black bean sweet
potato dandelion stew over some black
coming back up back up yes yes the yajes
dandelion yes is black bean think black
beans and rice Latina style right I like
to use black beans it’s black turtle
beans with its purple sweet potato
uh-huh with some dandelion in it it’s so
it was slap your mama good it was slap
your mama crap your mama good whose mama
your mama
[Applause]
don’t thank Jessie for being on the
program with us today
[Applause]
[Music]