Sister Kristin Crawford had two powerful dreams, and she’s been blessed enough, she says, to have accomplished both of them. After completing her studies in clinical laboratory science in 1998 (dream #1) she began working in the health services department at Fort Belknap Reservation in Montana, where she ministered among the Assinaboin and Gros Ventre Indians (dream #2).
Her study program encompassed a vast body of science in areas as diverse as analytical-instrumental chemistry, biophysiology, and parasitology, and culminated in board certification in this field. The study and certification fulfilled one of her dreams. The other was realized when she ministered at Fort Belknap. Sister Kristin served there for two years until her own health made it necessary for her to pursue a ministry in a different setting.
In 2000 she returned to Decatur, Ill., where she is employed by Cancer Care Specialists. Here she puts all of her training to work by being part of a medical team whose responsibility it is to diagnose and treat cancer patients. Sister Kristin sees herself as a partner to the patients and their families as they face cancer. She knows the fear they face, especially because her own family has coped with cancer.
Sister Kristin says she chose medical technology because it offered her the opportunity to study a wide range of medical science and provided a foundation for possible future study in related medical fields. Her responsibilities include obtaining, processing, and preparing specimens for analysis; maintaining, troubleshooting, and repairing the instruments used in testing; assuring quality control; running the various tests and analyzing the results; and finally, being a “resource-base” to help the entire medical staff assure proper diagnosis of and treatment for patients’ ailments.
When asked what has been the hardest thing she has faced in this ministry, Sister Kristin immediately said it was giving up her work with Native Americans. Her two years at Fort Belknap were an experience like no other she has had, she says. Sister Kristin mentioned how much she learned from the simple lifestyle of the people, but that she sometimes felt overwhelmed by the cycles of poverty and hopelessness she encountered daily.
Sister Kristin says her greatest blessings have been her coworkers, whom she describes as “remarkable and other-centered.” One of Jesus’ commands to his disciples was to heal the sick. Sister Kristin’s ministry allows her to offer her healing care to people at a difficult stage of life.
This article first appeared in the
Fall 2003 issue of Just WORDS.
Copyright 2003
Dominican Sisters of Springfield, Illinois. All rights reserved.
