In my day job, I am a provider of medicine at a hospital.

But really, I see myself as a listener because people thrive when they are heard.

Hi, I’m Dr. Christina McConnell

My mission is to hear what comes from your heart so that your deepest wishes are met.

When it comes to your deepest wishes, they could be small ones like being able to make it to the dinner table at night or they could be bigger ones like needing to make it to June because that’s when your wife delivers her baby.

The look of knowing relief on your face when someone actually hears what you really want makes what I do so meaningful. I really hear what you’re really after, even though you’re not saying it. And you feel this tremendous sense of relief because you can move forward.

What would you like to know about me?

Read my professional story

Read my personal story

My Professional Story

I have been in the medical field for 30 years. In that time I’ve helped hundreds of terminally ill patients and transported over 10,000 patients by helicopter, airplane, or ambulance, and stood at their bedside during a multitude of hospital situations. I can offer you all my years of experience both personally and professionally.

I am a Palliative Care Nurse Practitioner, Doctor of Nursing Practice, and Board Certified in Family Practice. I currently care for palliative care patients at a major cancer institute in the Seattle area. This means I see people like your or your family’s shoes every day.

Before that, I was a ground medic in Texas for almost a decade and a flight medic and RN in both Texas and Washington. This is how I know what end of life looks like both at home and in the hospital. It provided me with insight to decision-making and taught me what care and death look like in the unexpected emergent setting compared to planning the journey.

I did my Masters thesis on Lessening Distress When Delivering the News of Miscarriage: Women’s Perspectives. This taught me how important it is to know your story before going into the room and to meet you exactly where you are on your road through any kind of medical grief. There isn’t any right or wrong way but rather be present with what I’m hearing so that I know how to respond to where you’re at.
I recognize that continuing education and professional development is crucial. I do what it takes to provide excellent service.

My Personal Story

there is a problem in the medical system

There is a problem with the medical system.

It’s been wrong my whole life.

My parents grew up in a very different generation where you don’t question doctors. They would often tell me “I don’t know why I’m having this done.” It bugged me because my parents were older, Hispanic, and not wealthy. They didn’t have the confidence to go in and talk to healthcare professionals; I felt like they got mowed over all the time.

So I have always seen firsthand the problems, but it all hit home for me when my Dad got Cancer.

Not too long after I had started working as a nurse in palliative care, my Dad got his diagnosis and even though this was my field, I struggled to navigate the hospital system. I was living in another state, so I felt immense guilt that I couldn’t be there for my Dad in the way I wanted to be. I would ask my sister to put me on the phone so I could hear them talking to the doctors. I was so disappointed at how he was treated but struggled to help over the phone.

When my Dad’s sickness got worse, he had a bad fall.

As an older man in your 80s to fall, that’s a big deal. But it was just completely dismissed.

His fall turned out to just be the catalyst that was a downhill spiral. My brother-in-law started taking my Dad to his appointments and would always have me on the phone. If I wasn’t asking questions, they weren’t going to address anything. It was horrible.

Later, he got admitted to the hospital. Because of COVID, nobody was allowed in with him and there was no one to advocate for him. Three days after being admitted, he wasn’t answering his phone. I called the emergency room and asked to speak to the doctor, but I was told the doctor was busy and the nurse said my dad was talking to her and doing fine. But I knew my Dad couldn’t hear very well and might not be telling the truth about how he was feeling.

We sent a hospice representative in there because that was the only way we could get an advocate in the hospital. And the hospice person told me that he hadn’t eaten in three days and that there were trays of food stacked up in his room. All along the nurses had been telling me that he’d been eating every meal. I called his oncologist and demanded that he be released home on hospice because we could take better care of him than they were and no one was even paying attention to him.

Here I was — a medical professional, an expert, and I was experiencing all these same things my clients and their families go through.

I have a voice and I had a hard time with a system. So for people who really don’t have a voice, I can only imagine how much they will struggle.

My work with Abundantly Heard feels like the right thing to do based on what I’ve experienced with my Dad and the knowledge that I can help transform the way patients and families are treated.

Here are some of the ways I can support you and your family members one-on-one:

Online Coaching

For terminally ill patients, via Zoom.

A big part of what I do is asking you what you want, listening to you, and finding creative ways to help you bring your deepest wishes to life.

DISCOVER

In-person Personal Advocacy

One-off medical appointments in the Seattle Area.

As a support person with a medical background, I can help you navigate the complex hospital system.

DISCOVER

My Values

Creativity and Fun

It brings me great joy when I know that a client is living the life they really want to live. I’ve had clients throw a Hawaiian beach party because they always wanted to go to Hawaii but now they can’t travel, or a 90-year-old client throw a big dance party because they loved to dance.

I’m always looking at where we can experience joy, even when things are hard. I believe that if I was a sick person, I wouldn’t want everything around me to look and feel sterile and medical. That informs my brand and everything I do. I understand the gravity of what is going on, and yet I believe there is a different way we can approach it.

Deep Listening

My job title as a nurse says I am a provider of medicine. But really, I see myself as a listener. I believe people thrive when they are heard. It lights me up when I see that look of knowing relief on your face. I get to spend 10 minutes on this in the hospital setting, but really I feel we should be spending an hour on it. This is a big part of why I wanted to start Abundantly Heard. It almost brings tears when I think about it because it’s so unfair that people go into their medical appointments and don’t feel heard. Sadly, many doctors often don’t have the time or the emotional capacity to support their patients. Our system is built that way.

My role is to allow you to FINALLY be seen, heard and understood. You’ll let out a huge sigh of relief knowing that someone finally hears you. That what you want is finally being acknowledged and factored into the equation. And you’ll be surprised at the creative methods we can try to meet your deepest wishes so that the years you have left are meaningful.

Non-Judgemental

Clients say they feel like they can tell me anything and they don’t feel judged. That is really important to me. They’ve told me “Christina, you’re like an old shoe”, which is like the greatest compliment ever because they feel comfortable. I’m someone you’ll likely instantly feel at ease with because I never judge and always aim to treat you as if you were my own loved family member.

I have seen so many people come into my office after they’ve been to a medical provider who has belittled them or made them feel inferior or inadequate. Many come to me in tears. I know I grew up in an environment where I would have never been open with a medical provider because of the fear of the judgment that you’d get.

Fun facts about me

I was one of the first female paramedics in Lubbock Texas and not because I was cheered on but rather because I have steel eyed determination.
I backpacked and hitchhiked through Alaska on my own.
I delivered my son after 52 hours of labor AND both my doula and my husband tapped out.
I was in two branches of the military and part of Operation Enduring Freedom.

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