You Have MORE Than 24 Hours to Live: How Faith Beats Fear with Amy Suzanne Upchurch

All right, so sometimes in life, you come across circumstances that you did not foresee, you did not expect, and sometimes it can almost knock you out. And I know what that's like. My guest today knows what that's like. But there's one version of ourselves that wants to roll over and be overwhelmed by it and, you know, tap out, but there's another version somewhere. And I believe it's in everyone that uses that adversity to rise up and create a new story. I'm so excited because we have Amy Suzann Upchurch, and she's going to be sharing her story about overcoming adversity. And I think it's gonna. I think it's gonna help you out.

Awesome.

Thank you so much for being here. All right, so tell me a little bit about your life story. I came across you on social media, and I was like, I love this woman. She's, like, kicking butt, taking names, and using something that could, like, take someone out to. To really help other people. So first, share a little bit about your story and how you developed this. This whole thing that you're doing for women now.

Awesome. Well, thank you. You know, I do think we all face challenges in life, and it's not so much, you know, it's more like, how do you respond to these. To these situations that we sometimes find ourselves in that we never thought we would be in? And that's exactly what. Where I found myself growing up, I really struggled with regular cycles. And so my doctors always told me not to expect, you know, I wasn't going to have kids, and I'd kind of just come to accept that in my life. You know, when you're 16, 15, 14 years old, you're not really thinking like that. So I just kind of thought that was. That was it, and that that was normal, and then that was okay. But then fast forward a few years. I find myself. I'm getting married. I just gotten married. I'm moving away to Quantico, Virginia. He was in the military, so he was going through his military training school there. And I was actually getting on the military insurance when I get a phone call from them, and they're like, oh, by the way, you're pregnant. And I was like, what? I don't think you must have my paperwork mixed up with someone else's. And that's kind of where it started for me. I quickly found myself very sick a few weeks later, you know, really in the thrones of that first trimester. But I was diagnosed with something called hyperemesis gravidarm which I explained to people is just morning sickness on steroids. So I wasn't able to eat anything or drink anything or keep anything down. So I was living in the hospital. I had pick tube, I had feeding tubes, like pick lines. Medicine being pumped all in me just to keep me, um, keep me and my baby alive. Um, then I ended up on top of that contracting a blood infection. And this is this blood infection. The fatality rate is close to 70 or 80% of people that get this don't even survive. So I. Here I was, pregnant, all by myself in this new territory, newly married, and just my world had flipped upside down. And I. I remember like, asking myself, just lying in the hospital bed kind of day after day, I was so mad. I was so angry, like, God, why is this happening to me? I did not understand. I wanted to know what was going on. I felt just completely like I was watching my own life just like go away, go in a direction I definitely didn't want to be. In and out, really out of control. And long story short, I ended up having a team of doctors walked into the room one day with me. They pulled my husband out of training, and they all were just standing over my hospital bed. And he looked at me and he said, you have 24 hours left to live, you and your baby. And I was just like, it's hard to explain it, but I had such a sense of peace that came over me when that doctor said that, that I knew that this was just the beginning of my journey and just the beginning. And so, you know, very slowly, minute by minute, I was able to get through those first 24 hours. Then it turned into 72. And here I am today, years later, telling that doctor, you were wrong, right? And, you know, doing what I do today. And I just feel so honored and so blessed to be able to share my story and have products that help other women that are struggling with their bodies too, and maybe find themselves in a situation where they're just like, why is this happening to me? I don't get it. I don't understand. I don't know what to do next. And so, yeah, that's, you know, I ended up going through a few more pregnancies that were really tough as well. I didn't the first time. I, you know, had to, you know, do do it a few more times just to test the theory here. And anyways, with my fourth pregnancy, is really, really started to do the research about what I. In my body and on my body and had an amazing experience and it was like that aha. Moment where God was like, Amy, this is why, this is why. This is not about you at all. This is about helping everyone else. And I'm just, like I said, so blessed to be able to do what I'm doing today and to have had the experience that I had because I wouldn't have been able to be where I am today without it.

Wow. So much there. That's a. That story is. I mean, I know that all of us have our own stories of overcoming, but I want to know, like, I can imagine if, if someone's saying you have 24 hours to live, the last thing you're going to feel is peace. I mean, I can see that that would be a panic stricken moment. What was different about you in that moment that you were able to create a sense of peace around that diagnosis and not. And not go to this place of panic? Right.

I would say, I mean, it had to. I know it was God. It was God. It was one of those moments where it was not anything that I did. It was all about that kind of faith over fear, knowing that God was in control. Not the doctors, not the people standing around me, that God, God had a plan. And this was just part of that journey for me on this plan. And really having faith in that, that was kind of that moment that just really, that I remember clinging to and like I said, feeling that sense of peace just come over my whole body and being like, you're wrong. Sorry, I didn't obviously say that, but I just like had that sense of peace that gave me that confidence to, to. To know this wasn't the end, this was the beginning.

Right. Oh, that's so good. And you know what, we get those diagnosis, those messages all the time, honestly, like there can be. I remember when my son was in a. Was in a boating accident and had skull fractures and it was like, oh, this looks horrible. We don't know, you know, the prognosis. And I'm like, you know what? I had so much peace because just like you, I was like that. That's an opinion. And even if it looks factual, I can still hold it up to God's word say, but that's not. I'm not going to agree with it. So it was that moment, I think, where you heard the doctor, but you're like, but I'm not going to agree with that.

Right. You agree.

You will create whatever you agree to.

A hundred percent. Yeah. If your mind goes there, your body is going to follow.

Yeah. At that moment where you're like, I'm not going to agree to that. And that can be so powerful for people who are listening today. Like, we know that people are going through things, right? And so it might be like, call your attention to what you're agreeing to. What are you saying is true for you? Do you think that's impactful for someone?

A hundred percent. I mean, that's why I think it's so important to be grounded in the truth and grounded in what God says is the truth. Because if, if you don't, I think, have that foundation, I think it can set yourself up for a really rocky situation. Not just, you know, whatever you're going through, it could be a physical accident like your son, but you really have to have that spiritual foundation to be able to get through those sometimes physical, mental, emotional challenges that we all face in life. We all have those, those situations where, you know, we can choose what to. What is truth, what is what you're going to, you know, believe.

That's so good. When you say grounded in that. I think that's so important. I remember hearing this one person say, it's too late to learn how to fight with the sword when the house is already broken into. You know, it's like, and it's so important now. And whatever season someone is in, get grounded in what's true for you. Decide on what you. You're going to live out in your life. Because when the enemy comes in and it says that, you know, he comes in to devour, right? When he, when he comes in. The Bible is often called the sword of the spirit, right? It's too, it's too late to know how to battle. If you haven't been training in that art of swordplay. Like, you have to know the word or else you shouldn't be overwhelmed by it.

You will be, or you're be scared. You'll be, you know, stop in fear. You'll be confused. I think a lot of confusion too. The devil likes to kind of plant these seeds of confusion. That way you're not really sure what's. What you're thinking. And so that foundation, that spiritual foundation, that relationship is just so important.

Wow, that's so powerful. What are some things that if, if you're like, if you knew a friend who was going through a hard time like this, how would you come alongside them? Like, if someone's going through, like, this is like, you literally had a doctor saying, this is, this is the deal, you know, 20 years to live. And it, it could be someone is like, no, this is Literally how much I have in my bank account right now. No, this is literally like the prognosis over my body. This is actually what's happening in my marriage. Like, there can be so many things in our life that we're like, no, this is true. What I'm seeing is factual. How would you help someone in that place have that sense of peace that you had?

I think it's really important to understand that it's a journey, right? So you can't just take a moment in time and make that the. The entire journey. And so when you have those moments of time that are, you know, pivotal, challenging, whatever the case may be, I think it's important to step back and remember this is just one step along the journey. This isn't the ending of your journey. This isn't how it ends. You get to decide that. You get to, you know, choose the path you want for yourself. And so I think just being able to have to be able to step back and say, this is where I am today, but this doesn't have to be where I go tomorrow is really important.

So good. Now, talking about a journey, you have a wellness brand for women. And I'm sure people from the outside can look at that and say, oh, wow, she used her. Something that happened to her in her situation to turn it into something helpful for other women. Which is true. But I'm sure that journey wasn't always a steady climb up. No, not at all.

I had no idea what I was doing. Um, I didn't. I don't have an experience or, you know, I didn't have a background in, in medicine. I'm not a doctor. I've never started a business before. So for me, again, it comes back to kind of that faith over fear mentality that, you know, God will give you the desires of your heart. And I, I didn't want other women to feel as hopeless as I felt in those situations. And so, you know, through God's grace, I able to help other women. That way, they have resources, they feel support, they see that hope that this is just one step in their journey. It's not the end of the story. And so is it hard? Of course, it's hard to build something from nothing. But that's where God comes into play again as well. Like, I don't. I'm not, I'm not a. I don't. My IQ is not crazy. You know, I didn't. I don't have a trust fund that, you know, my daddy gave me to start all this. So it's really just God that has opened the doors and I think being true to, you know, the mission and the, the, the impact, you know, that this is a vehicle for God to be able to use and bless other women here on earth.

Yeah. You know, I always think because, you know, when you have your own company or your own ministry, you always think it's going to be just a clean cut journey. You always think like, oh, I can just expect what it'll be like. But I've told people like, no, it, it will be harder than you think, it'll take longer than you think, it'll be more expensive than you think. And sometimes I think God doesn't give us those details until we're so far in, it's like, oh, I, yeah, there's some stuff I left out. Like what would you say? Like, tell me about your journey. Like, were there those moments where you're like, if I had known that this was this hard or expensive or like what were those moments like? Because we have a lot of people who listen to this and who are building their own businesses and you know, they're building their own companies. So share some of those moments. How you got through that.

Right. I mean, in the beginning phases too, it's, you know, it's really tough, I would say, you know, getting to, you know, just getting traction, getting going and trying to figure out what does this even look like when you're creating something, creating something from nothing. And I mean I'm, I can think of koodles of mistakes I made that doesn't go without making mistakes. I think embrace your mistakes, you know, make those mistakes, learn from them. Don't make the same mistake twice. But I think at the end of the day, like, you need to know why you're doing what you're doing and that will help carry you through those hard times, those challenging days and expect those challenging days too. I think too it's, you see social media now and you see, you know, success. It looks all pretty and, and it's, it's. They're lying to you.

They're so lying to you. Like this, have a six figure day. It's like, hold up, you're leaving out so much stuff.

Right? Right. And I think too for me there's so much I like to say. There's like lots of again that foundation roots under the ground that you. No one will see, no one will ever know. But those roots are deep and they're strong and they're embedded in truth. And so I, you know, I'm doing What I'm doing and also having a foundation of just really strong roots will help carry you through those challenging times. Whether it is building something or a personal, you know, issue that you're going with, with your body, whatever, a marriage, you know, kids, relationships, all those things. I think it's so important to understand where you're going, why, and, and have that, that layer of foundational truth.

Yeah. Tell me about those roots. How did you form those roots? Because the roots kind of anchor you in for the storms.

Right, Right. No, I mean, I think those roots get tested like a good storm comes through and they, you know, they go through and they test which ones aren't strong and you, you know, develop them through again, I think like a personal relationship, which Jesus, knowing that he is your rock and your anchor. So when you, you know, have a doctor look you in the eyes and say, you know, you've got 24 hours to left to live, you have that foundation of truth knowing that he doesn't determine, you know, life or death, God does. And, you know, he doesn't determine, you know, that the stock market doesn't determine the success of your business or what's happening there. God does. He doesn't. So I think that sometimes we give, we can give a sense of false hope to things that are not truth and we have to erase those theories in life and know that God is the anchor of all truths.

So I wanted to revisit that. Why? Like when you know your why? Because I think if you really remind yourself of why you're doing this, you can kind of figure out any how, you know, and I'm sure there, as you know, you said you had no background in this. You had no trust fund to help you start it. So I'm sure there were times when you're like, how do I do this? How did you manage those moments when you're trying to, like, be in that creative mode and be that channel of what God wants to do through your life. But you're. But you feel like you're kind of bumping up against the wall.

Right. I think persistence is really important in business. And, you know, I'm a big believer of not asking, you know, no for an answer. There isn't. There is a way. You just haven't found the way yet. So I think it's important to develop really thick skin in business as well. So you're going to hear a lot of no's. There's only going to be one open door. So, you know, you're going to have to Knock on a lot of doors. You're going to have to be creative and think of different solutions. And it's not going to. You can't compare yourself to other businesses and how they're doing it, because that's not, I can guarantee you that's probably not going to be what works for your business. It's going to be something that's unique to your business. And so I think really getting creative, thinking outside the box to look at new markets or look at a different way of doing something, you know, solving other people's problems. Like you asked, you know, knowing your why, like, why? I. I think every day for hours on end, I just laid in a hospital bed and kept asking God, why me? Why can I not do what everyone else seems so easily? And I'm so blessed to be able to know why I got my answer to my why. But those are frustrating questions to have and to ask God and grapple with. And like I said, I didn't just do it with one pregnancy, I did it with four pregnancies. So just four years alone of me just asking God why. I don't get it. I don't, like, everyone else is so good at this. And it seems so simple. And here I am, I can't even swallow water without, you know, throwing my brains up. So it takes time, too. It doesn't happen overnight. You know that. Again, that's part of that foundational, you know, building that strong foundation. It doesn't just happen overnight.

Right, right. What would you say to that person who is in their health journey right now? Maybe it's, maybe it's the journey of building a business, but maybe it's a journey like where you were, where you're like, I can't figure out what's wrong with me. Like, no matter what I try, it doesn't work and I'm not getting any solutions. How would you come alongside that person right now?

Yeah, I think that that's a great question because I do think there we see so many women within our company. They're frustrated, they're, they're, you know, they don't understand what's happening with their body. So I do think educating yourself is really important too. Getting to even know your own body. You think, like, I was an athlete in college. I, you know, I thought I had a really healthy body, and then all of a sudden it just was flipped upside down. So getting to know your body is really important and you can think you know it, but if it's not working in the way that you Thought it would work. There's obviously something going on. So educating yourself also, again, holding on to hope, like, this is just part of your journey, not the end of your journey. So through that education, you can experiment, try things, see what works well, connect again with your body. You know, I think also focusing on the whole body. So I'm huge on, you know, that holistic approach of not just your physical, but also your mental, your emotional and your spiritual self. You really need to look at every aspect of your body, I think, in order to become the best version of yourself.

I love that that's so important. I love that you are looking at it holistically, too, because we are just a culmination of so many different things. Our thoughts become things, and what we meditate on, we become. So I've seen often where people will start on a health journey, but they're leaving out the spiritual and the emotional and the mental. Maybe that's what created the health problems, you know?

Right, right.

And I love your idea of, like, look at everything. Like, yes, do your research, but do expansive search so that we can really know. And also, I believe the Holy Spirit will tell you. It's like, look. And I'm sure, like, you. You probably experience that too, where God's, like, directing you to, look at this, look at this, take note of this. Did that ever happen to you?

Oh, yeah, 100. Because I tried so many different things. I was just like, God, I will do anything. Like, what do I need to do? Like, help. And so, you know, he put different people in my path. That allowed me to, you know, go, try this, go try this and really figure out what worked for my body. But again, having that foundational layer of truth of, you know, this isn't the end. This is just part of the journey is. That's why it's so important, because you're not going to get a bunch of yeses. You're probably going to get a bunch of nos like, those don't work for me. And that's fine because that's one step closer to finding out what will work for you.

Oh, I love that the nose are just one step closer to finding out the yes. Right. It's just one step closer. I love that. So I love what you're doing. I love how you're helping women. I love everything that is healthy and holistic and honoring, you know, to our original design. So share a little bit about your company and what you do for and also where people can find out more information about you.

Gotcha. Well, we. We Sell products, you know, natural vitamins, organic vitamins, supplements, and things like that that'll help women through all stages of life. So PMS all the way up through menopause, different ailments, different challenges that we face through different seasons. I think we have over, like, 170 different products right now.

Oh, my goodness.

I know, I know.

How do you keep up with all of it?

Yeah, I have an amazing team. I have an amazing team, and they're great. We also have a really strong community that we've cultivated because I do think community plays such a big, important role in women's lives. To offer that sign of hope, maybe someone that's been in your shoes before that can really empathize with what you're going through. And. And again, maybe offer, hey, this worked for me. You should try this. Or you could do this. So we have a community, a big community group that, you know, we'd love for a woman to be a part of, just to feel like it's not an isolated journey. We all are going through something and, you know, we all have something valuable to. To share with each other.

Love that. Okay, where can people go to get more information about you?

Oh, they could go to our website. Target, Walmart, you know, is where we sell products. Amazon. Who doesn't love Amazon? Or get products delivered tomorrow. And then, like, lots of little local health food stores. And then we're also in, like, 25 different countries around the world.

Beautiful. And we'll link to all that so people can get more information.

Right.

So one more thing. If someone is listening to you right now and saying, I love this story. I love the overcoming. I love getting beyond one thing. You could share with them right now. Tell them, take action today.

Take action today. I would say I have so many things I don't have to.

Yeah.

My know that this is just one step in your journey. This is not the end. So while you feel frustrated and overwhelmed and anxious today, this is just one moment in time. And I promise you this is not the end of your story.

I love it. Thank you so much. This is such a good time, Amy. Thank you.

Well, thank you.