Mike Triem interviews Nikki Chamblee, director of Women’s Health and Mobile Partnerships at Save the Storks, who shares how her own life began when her mother—facing pressure from doctors and difficult personal circumstances—chose life for her, a story that now fuels Nikki’s passion for supporting women in unplanned pregnancies. She describes Baby Penny, a little girl whose parents also rejected a doctor-recommended termination, and how Nikki unexpectedly became Penny’s living liver donor despite being a brain-cancer survivor. Nikki explains that Save the Storks serves women and men with compassionate, practical support—through mobile medical units, resources for moms, programs for
Well, hey, it’s Mike Train with Crawford Media Group. Today, we’re joined by Nikki Chamblee. Nikki is, let me get it here, because I have to get this right. She is the Director of Women’s Health and Mobile Partnerships for our friends at Save the Storks. Nikki, thanks for joining us.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yes, thanks, Mike, for having me on the show. Hello.
SPEAKER 01 :
We love having a chance to highlight Save the Storks and Save the Storks mission. Just to remind our listeners is to create a story of hope and empowerment for every woman facing an unplanned pregnancy. And Nikki, tell us a little bit about that, because that was kind of the position your mom was in, wasn’t she?
SPEAKER 02 :
She was. In fact, that’s why this mission is so just dear to my heart, because my mom, as she was married to my dad and it was a failing marriage and she already had two previous children from another marriage, went to the doctor with some health issues and they said, hey, not only are you having these issues, but also pregnant. And so we recommend you terminate this pregnancy. And knowing the pressure that she had getting ready for a divorce, knowing that my biological father didn’t want any children, she could have very easily made that decision. And nobody would have had to know because nobody knew she’s pregnant. But her and the medical staff, but she bravely chose life for me and chose all the sacrifices and to just teach me that circumstances don’t dictate the outcome. So I got to grow up watching her just be so resilient and show me time and time again that you can overcome hardships. And so when I look at the work that SafeStorks does, I think of my mom and I think of all of the women out there who are in the same pressures and just need someone to share hope with them.
SPEAKER 01 :
Nicky, we’ve heard that story from a few other people, even from moms that have said, hey, I was faced with that choice and we decided or I decided no. You also helped a family and this is a story I can’t even believe. There’s a little baby named Penny. Tell us kind of how that laid out and what you ended up doing.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah, so baby Penny, I actually heard first about her when her dad was working at Save the Storks. And when him and his wife were pregnant with Penny, doctors told them, you know, that Penny had this diagnosis and really they should consider other options, meaning termination. And they decided not to even consider that route and instead considered other options with another doctor. And knowing that when Penny was born, she was going to have some medical issues and need some surgeries. They went through with the entire pregnancy. And when Penny was born, she spent about six months at Children’s Hospital undergoing surgeries and procedures and all kinds of things, but just full of life. And earlier this year, Penny’s two and a half now, and earlier this year, we got a prayer request just through one of our other coworkers that stays in touch with the family saying, hey, Penny’s doing pretty good, but her liver has failed and she needs another liver. If anyone is interested, and donating. Here’s the information. Here’s how you can do that. If not, then please just pray for penny. And I remember seeing that and I never thought about liver donation. I’ve been familiar with bone marrow and obviously blood and then even kidney but never thought about like a living liver donor. But when I saw her blood type, and I was like, Oh, that’s my blood type. Maybe I should consider this. And originally, I didn’t think i could because i’m a brain cancer survivor and so you know thinking back of my brain surgeries and all of that battle i thought for sure they’re going to say no you don’t qualify but thought i would give it a chance and so that was the first um introduction to penny’s story with this this need for a liver and it’s been such a great joy going down this journey and being able to provide just a piece of my life so that she can have life and that she can thrive. And especially knowing that both of us were counted out in the womb at the very beginning, and yet here we are getting to celebrate life together.
SPEAKER 01 :
It’s amazing that Nikki’s mom was faced with the same thing your mom was. A doctor saying, you know, you might want to consider this other option. I’m guessing it went something like that. And your mom bravely said no. And Penny’s mom said no. And you got to be a part of it. That’s crazy.
SPEAKER 02 :
yeah it’s really been just an amazing journey to just see how the lord has just from the beginning known exactly who we were going to be where we were going to end up and then put this you know in colorado springs of all places and in this situation where i would see that request and be able to to fill that need
SPEAKER 01 :
We’re speaking with Nikki Chamblee. She’s the Director of Women’s Health and Mobile Partnerships at Save the Storks. And we’re just sharing about these situations that so many moms find themselves in where they’re told there might be an issue or there is an issue with the baby. And we’ve heard that story kind of play out. And the moms and parents that have said, no, I don’t care what you think is going to happen, how this baby you think is going to be born. We’re sticking for life and we’re going to have this baby. So tell us, there’s kind of a cool video that has been produced about this. What can you tell us about that?
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah, Save the Storks created this video just called A Match Made in Heaven, Nikki and Penny’s Story, A Life of Hope. And it really is both of our sides of the story. And so it includes Penny’s parents and even my mom is in the video as well. And just the journey that brought us to this liver donation and how we got to this point and how just the Lord is so, so good and how life is always worth the risk. And so it’s a beautiful picture of the real life example that we’re living right now.
SPEAKER 01 :
So what would you say, Nikki, for a listener that is not familiar with Save the Storks and the work that you do? What do you tell the person that doesn’t know storks? You know, you’re kind of giving them the introduction about how vital the work is for Save the Storks, not only for the moms, but sometimes for the dads, too.
SPEAKER 02 :
State of the Source is really a unique organization because we’re not just your traditional pro-life help to get the ultrasound machine, but we really are in the trenches with women and organizations that are in front of women and men. providing materials, whether it’s a Dare to Be a Dad program so men can learn what it means to be a father and to get their confidence to be there for the mom and for the baby. And then also the resources for the women. So through our short buses, we’re able to get exactly where women are, not just making her find her way to us, but we’re able to go exactly where she is. And then also our service to the churches and the pregnancy centers where women are able to hear truth and hear just that life, is worth the risk, that it’s okay that you feel the struggle. It’s okay that this might be hard, but we are here to support. So often people just think that we only care about the baby and the decision for life, but really Save the Stork shows, no, we care about mom. We care about dad. We care about life after birth. And we’re really able to show that through all of our resources that we offer nationwide.
SPEAKER 01 :
I think, too, a lot of staff at Save the Storks has some kind of story, don’t they? They either have been touched by abortion or, you know, are in some level able to say, yeah, I know what’s going on here. I know how to talk to the mom that’s faced with this decision.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yes, many, probably all of our staff actually have some personal connection to the movement, whether they were adopted, whether they were, like myself, almost aborted. or whether they’ve been through abortion themselves or adopted children or grew up with foster siblings or adopted siblings. We all are tied to the movement in some personal way, which is also really unique for Save the Storks because it does give us a perspective of having been there, having been involved to understand more than just saying, hey, yeah, life is great, but being able to understand the hardships and how, no, yes, we do get it. We have been there. We’ve been in your shoes. what you’re going through. And if we don’t know, then someone sitting next to us does know and we’d love to connect them with that person as well.
SPEAKER 01 :
We’re speaking with Nikki with Save the Storks. And Nikki, we have the blessing and honor of knowing your CEO, the boss, if you will, and Diane. And she’s been in our station talking about Save the Storks and what you do to make sure that people understand life has purpose and that love grounded in faith can overcome all the daunting medical stuff that comes up no matter how dire these doctors are. Say it is or a counselor, you know, somebody that says you need to consider abortion as an option. So Nikki, tell us when it comes to what our listeners can do to support Save the Storks and the ways they can get involved. What are some of the options and how do they connect?
SPEAKER 02 :
Yes. So our website is a great resource to go to to see the various ways that you can plug in. We always need prayer there. The battle is very real against life. And so definitely signing up just to be on prayer for all of our staff, all of our partners, all of the women and men that we’re interacting with is always an easy but vital piece that we take for granted. And then Save the Storks is 100% donor funded. And so all of the work that we can do and all the resources we provide are because of the generous supporters that donate to Save the Storks. And so that’s another great way to get involved, whether it’s as a monthly donor, a one-time donor, or what have you. You could even do fundraisers for Save the Storks. And then also we have volunteer opportunities that are found on our website. So there are many different ways to plug in as a volunteer for Save the Storks. Anything from helping us with research and looking at products and resources to showing up at events and helping us greet and have great awareness events and everything in between. So lots of ways to volunteer and get involved with Save the Storks. And our website, savethestorks.com is a wonderful resource to find out more.
SPEAKER 01 :
That sounds good. And I want them to see the video. And that’s on the website as well, right?
SPEAKER 02 :
Correct. That can be found on the website as well. And also on our YouTube channel.
SPEAKER 01 :
So we have parents and some grandparents listening to our station. What would you tell the parent or grandparent that they’re faced, you know, grandparent might be a grandchild, parent might be their child, and they hear those words, I’m pregnant. What are some of the first steps they need to take so that so life can be preserved so they can make really a good decision and not, you know, kind of get caught in this mess that that can happen really quickly?
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah, anytime that someone, whether it’s your child or, you know, even a friend or whomever that’s coming to you and is saying, hey, I’m pregnant and this is unplanned, that’s already them showing you that they feel safe giving you that information. And so it’s so important in those moments to not just react with that kind of knee jerk, oh my gosh, what are you going to do? But really just think about it and understand and remember that there is support out there, these pregnancy resource centers and organizations like Seed the Storks and the others can provide the support that women and men need so that they can make a decision for life. And so, you know, it’s just to meet them in that situation with compassion, without judgment, without shame, and just being willing to think about this is a new life, this is a new journey, and it doesn’t mean Things are going to be horrible. That’s not the case. I mean, even for my mom finding out she’s pregnant. My dad doesn’t want me. Doctors are saying get rid of me. And she knows that she’s going to be a single parent with three young girls if she chooses my life. And yet she said, hey, it’s worth it. yeah it was hard you know choosing life doesn’t mean life gets easy it’s just like choosing christ doesn’t mean all of a sudden you have all the prosperity and all this easy life but it’s always worth it and it’s always valuable and so just meet people where they are with that love of christ and that compassion and listen to their fears and then find the resources go to save the storks and find the resources so that we can help through that journey so she’s not alone
SPEAKER 01 :
Nikki, it’s been a blessing to have the time with you. Your story is so inspiring. You saved this baby. That’s just, that wasn’t even your baby. That is crazy to me. That’s unbelievable. And you’re making a difference in the lives of other women that are faced with that decision. It’s SaveTheStorks.com. SaveTheStorks.com. As always, you can contact us if you Missed any of this, need some additional information. And Nikki Chamblee, thanks for taking the time with us.
