Sherrell Mims: Caring for the body, mind and soul
By Lauren Caggiano
For Fort Wayne Ink Spot
You could say Sherrell Mims wears many hats in her professional life: nurse, author, public speaker, spiritual guide and most recently the organizer of the International COVID-19 Nurses Prayer Association, a public Facebook group designed to encourage health care professionals.
The common thread? Helping people become the best versions of themselves by meeting them where they are. And no matter the context, she does it with her heart and soul. There’s no shortage of passion and zest for life in this area.
I recently sat down with Mims to learn about how she shows up fully in each of these areas of her life and what she has planned for the future.
Ink Spot: You currently work in nursing. What led you down this path?
Mims: My father had seizures. As a child, watching him go through that really prompted me to want to go into nursing initially. Then once I graduated from college, I originally started out in the medical-surgical unit for about five years. I later went into dialysis and cardiac telemetry and other specialties. Currently, I’m working with patients experiencing challenges related to mental health and addiction at Fort Wayne’s branch of Avenues Recovery Center on Fairfield Avenue.
Ink Spot: You touch lives through your speaking platform, Ms Sherrell Speaks. How did you get into that line of work?
Mims: I have always been an encourager, even from a young age. I was always there on the sidelines, telling people they could do it. Also, once I got into the church culture—and upon reading and understanding the Word—I was even more encouraged to step into this role.
Today it comes naturally to me, to encourage people to be the best they can be. If they have a bad day, uplifting their spirits is the best thing to do.
Ink Spot: Your book, I Will Wait Until Morning, addresses the heavy topic of grief. What’s one takeaway you want readers to internalize?
Mims: Everyone grieves differently, but the goal is to have a healthy grief experience. I watched my fiancé go through a cancer diagnosis, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, and ultimately hospice before he died. Those were all different challenges. As an oncology nurse for five years, I knew what to expect. So, it didn’t hit me as hard as maybe for someone unfamiliar with the process.
It took me about four months to grieve because I understood the stages. While the experience is personal, what I’m saying is don’t stay in one stage too long.
Ink Spot: Who or what inspires your work?
Mims: Maya Angelou. She always spoke from the heart and was so inspiring to me when I was coming up. I also enjoy listening to motivational speakers, like Les Brown, Tony Robbins, Wayne Dyer, etc.
I also look inward. I have to find a way to encourage myself every day. You have to do that if you want to be the best at everything you do. I don't believe in doing things haphazardly. When I do something, I give 110%.
Ink Spot: What’s next for you professionally?
Mims: Something I’m taking to the next level is my public speaking. I have an engagement this week in Troy, Michigan. Shawn Fair’s Leadership Experience tour event will be live and virtual and it’s going to be another level of exposure. It will be broadcast on several digital networks, like Roku, Apple, etc.
Longer-term, I plan to continue pursuing public speaking while taking a different role post-retirement. I'm thinking about getting into chaplaincy. I know there’s a need for grief counselors. I’d love to go into the hospital setting and pray with families because that is definitely a time when people really need someone to empathetically listen.