Conversations with Daisy Martinez

Today we’d like to introduce you to Daisy Martinez.

Hi Daisy, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers?
I’m the eldest of three girls, in my Hispanic home which translates to I’m mom #2, and my mom’s go-to gal. To all of my fellow Mexican friends, you know exactly what I’m referring to. You become the backbone of the family at a young age and there’s so much on the line.

I am a first-generation college student and graduate from an all-girl family raised by a single working mom. I claim that proudly because only I know how hard it was when there was no one to guide me along the way but that doesn’t mean I got to where I was alone.

I met some amazing people along the way and I thank them for their influence and guidance in my journey. Granted my mom did everything in her power to uplift us and get us to where we are today, but her main focus was to financially provide and keep us in a secure living situation. I was blessed enough to have received FAFSA and grants in all of my years of college, so I graduated debt-free!

I then perused a career in the medical field as a Nurse practitioner, but for that I had to begin as a nurse, so I was again blessed enough to have been chosen for the CEP program through Gateway at the beginning of the pandemic. Times were weird, my sister became very ill, I lost my job, my main jobs hours were cut, and I felt like all the odds were against me.

Aside it all, I decided to sign the school contract where I would complete my BSN in the course of two years, attend two colleges full time, and be able to work right into my Master’s to be done… or so I thought. I think at the moment I knew if I pushed through it and gave it my all my sister would get to see me graduate, but life works in mysterious ways.

Halfway through the semester my mom and I became my sisters full time caregivers as her brain cancer progressed, I remained hopeful and pushed through late late nights and continued to attend both schools and clinical rotations. I would be lying if I said it was easy, I don’t remember a day where I didn’t feel defeated and that’s the honest truth. I internally felt as if my family and I couldn’t catch a break, in the middle of my fall semester I lost my sister and failed to perform on my exit exams.

I was not given time to grieve nor process, and due to my inability to perform on those tests, I was terminated from the program. In the midst of what I think was the worst year, we’ve ever had my mom win in court. She had been fighting for her residency, and her last court took place seven days after my sister’s passing. She didn’t feel she had it in her that day to even show up, and I assured her she had to show up for herself that day, so she did and after a long-fought year, she won that day.

I remember us crying because it was all so bittersweet, my sister was gone, but my mom was now going to be able to visit her family after 20 years…I like to think my sister did that for her. As the winter of 2020 continued I felt hopeless and lost everything I worked for was taken in less than a year, and I was still trying to process the death of my sister, all while making sure my mom and little sister were “ok” because how do you comfort a mother who just lost her baby.

Regarding my sister, her name was Aileen and I feel as if one day I’ll fully be able to tell her story because her life was lived to the fullest and she deserves to be remembered. Since 2020 I have became very involved in the homeopathic remedies and I’m passionate about sharing what I learn, recipes, herbs, their purpose and so on. I have perused a job in the ever-growing mortgage industry, and I think I joined at a great time considering the rate at which Arizona continues to grow.

The question I get most is if I ever will go back to finish my degree, and I don’t think the passion for the healthcare system I once had is there. I have a passion for helping people, and I would say I do that in several aspects of my life behind closed doors, and that makes me happy.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I would consider myself the homeopathic health guru to my community, I take pride in sharing all that I learn. In 2021 I remember making an elderberry syrup that I would say greatly helped with Covid, I used it on myself and mom before making jars of it that I then sold.

The jars were always sold and people would buy them for friends and family after they would test it and see results, it made me feel good knowing i was trusted. I remember getting the idea originally off of Tiktok and then tweaking the recipe and making it my own.

Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
The most important lesson I’ve learned along my journey is that not every day is guaranteed and I know it sounds cliché to say, but you have to make the most of what you’re given in any situation and ultimately the “perfect time” does not exist.

We, as individuals, will never be ready for what life throws at us, it’s our attitude and perspective that will determine the outcome of every situation we are placed in.