Two women Veterans recently bonded after sharing stories of their fertility struggles, and it wouldn’t have happened without a little help from Atlanta VA.
“In my darkest days, Dr. Geisel pushed me,” said Climmie Cooper-Lewis, a 42-year-old Air Force Veteran who lives in Dallas, Georgia. Cooper-Lewis struggles with depression, anxiety, chronic pain, a back injury and effects from digestive and reproductive surgeries. “I wanted to give up so many times. I have chronic pain but I have no choice but to keep living at this point. My husband is pushing me. My babies are relying on me. I have no choice but to trust everyone who is involved in my care, trust my therapist and trust the journey.”
In 2020, after conceiving naturally and feeling like the pregnancy was going smoothly, Cooper-Lewis had an ultrasound that revealed her baby had no heartbeat. “God, why do you keep doing this to me?” Cooper-Lewis wondered. She prayed, leaning on the faith she’s relied on since childhood.
In need of help, Cooper-Lewis drove to the Atlanta VA Women’s Clinic for a telehealth phone consultation with a psychiatrist at the Joseph Maxwell Cleland Atlanta VA Medical Center in Decatur. “It feels good to have someone understand you.”
“Within a couple of hours, VA gave me options and tools to use,” Cooper-Lewis said. She didn’t know all the many services available to her. Dr. Debbie Geisel connected her to a nutritionist, a Pregnancy and Infant Loss Group, maternity care coordinators and a VA chaplain. “The women’s health service has been providing me with top-tier care.” Climmie Cooper-Lewis Geisel is the clinical director for primary care and mental health integration, and is the Atlanta VA women’s mental health champion.
Cooper-Lewis has been a patient of Geisel for about five years. She has received individual and group therapy and telehealth visits. If she needs anything, Geisel is there to guide her in the right direction.
“Even after she became a clinical director, she still provided group therapy for these women. She still provided care for me. I met one lady, a sister from another mister. My dear friend, Heather. It […]
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