Nurse’s global impact inspires gift for next generation of ECU nursing
The family of a Pirate Nurse is carrying on her spirit of 50 years of nursing service by funding a scholarship that has helped unburden the next generation of graduates of East Carolina University’s College of Nursing.
Mary Lou Fisher graduated with a Bachelor of Science in nursing from East Carolina University in 1985. (Contributed photo)
Mary Lou Schulz Fisher was raised on a rural Iowa farm, one of three girls. She told her family that from a young age she wanted to be a traveling nurse, to help people around the world. After completing her education in a one-room schoolhouse, she traveled to St. Louis to tackle nursing school where she met the man who would ultimately become her husband and father to their three children.
Raising a family forced Fisher to pause her plan to see the world but staying somewhat in place in cities throughout the Southeast allowed her to hone her skills in emergency departments and psychiatric units.
“When my siblings and I were in our teenage years, she decided to go back to school and get her Bachelor of Science in nursing degree,” said Atticus Fisher, Mary Lou’s son.
At the time her then-husband Gary was pastor of a Lutheran church in Jacksonville, and in between work and raising three kids, she drove the two-lane back roads to Greenville to attend class, which was then on main campus. Fisher finished her degree in 1985.
When their children were off to college themselves, the Fishers moved to Baltimore for work. There, Mary Lou took a role at Johns Hopkins Hospital, first in the emergency department and then in the intensive care unit. While at Johns Hopkins in the mid-1990s, she received an invitation that would put her back on track to be a globe-trotting nurse.
“For whatever reason, she was tapped to go with former President Jimmy Carter to be part of his medical team on a trip to Costa Rica,” Atticus said. “They asked, ‘Do you want to come along?’ and she said, ‘Sure, why not?’”
Atticus said she returned from that first trip and knew she needed more education, so she took on a Master of Science in nursing to be prepared for the next phase of her career. Eventually she took a role working with Samaritan’s Purse, a missionary organization that responds to human tragedy across the globe.
“It wasn’t so much for the missionary work. It was the opportunity to travel. She ended up going all over the world. She was in Bosnia after the civil war, northern Afghanistan after 9/11. She was in Thailand, Palestine and South Sudan a bunch of times. She loved Africa and did a ton of work there,” Aticus said.
She traveled so extensively that the family joked that she was a CIA officer. After she left from a trip “something erupted right after she left,” Atticus said.
Mary Lou Fisher fires a rifle in an Afghan desert during a mission trip with Samaritan’s Purse. (Contributed photo)
One of Atticus’ favorite stories of his mother’s exploits was when she was in northern Afghanistan and her team came under fire from unknown gunmen. Later, she was invited on a desert excursion by a warlord who took a shine to her. He gifted her with an elaborate dress and then took her out into the desert to fire an AK-47.
“My other good memory is that she was on the cover of the American Journal of Nursing back in May 2014. She was with Samaritan’s Purse in Haiti after the big earthquake and a photographer took a photo of her with a young girl asleep on her knees as she’s filling out paperwork,” Atticus said. “That pretty much encapsulates everything about her and the work she did.”
After decades of caring for those in desperate need abroad, she was told by her doctors that her heart was failing, and she was too sick to carry on her travels. Treatment after treatment to resolve the congenital condition was unsuccessful and her only hope was a heart transplant.
“On her 72nd birthday she had a heart transplant, which was successful,” Atticus said. “She was up and walking within four hours of the procedure, which was amazing. For the next few months she had full life, taking trips and hanging out with her friends. Everything was great.”
In October 2016, she suffered a massive stroke and died a few weeks later at age 72.
Mary Lou Fisher completes paperwork while a Haitian girl sleeps on her lap in a photo on the cover of the May 2014 edition of the American Journal of Nursing. (Contributed photo)
Mary Lou’s children settled her estate and thought the best way to honor her was to establish a scholarship in her name. ECU, where she started her nursing career, seemed the logical place to invest in her legacy.
Thus far, the Mary Lou Schulz Fisher scholarship has awarded $1,000 scholarships to five students, including Haley Gipson, a senior nursing student.
“This scholarship significantly helps ease the financial burden of my education,” Gipson said. “Financial support, like the Mary Lou Fisher Scholarship, allows me to focus more on my academic and career goals without the much-added stress of finances. Not only that but it encourages and motivates me to work hard and make the most of the opportunities that have been provided to me. I’m so grateful for the opportunities this scholarship has given me. It means the world to me and my nursing profession.”
Sarah Swain, executive director of Health Sciences Philanthropy with the ECU Health Foundation, said creating a scholarship is a powerful way to honor a loved one’s legacy.
“We’re deeply grateful to families like the Fishers who understand the impact of an ECU education and are committed to transforming the lives of our students — both now and for generations to come,” Swain said.
Atticus said his mother would be proud that a scholarship had been established in her name but would probably also be embarrassed that a fuss had been raised at all.
“I think she would be very happy to see this money going toward young nursing students who are going out into the world and helping people,” Atticus said. “She ended up a nurse for more than 50 years and fulfilled her dream to travel around the world,” Atticus said. “How many people she helped we’ll never know.”
To learn more about supporting College of Nursing students through an academic scholarship or to make a gift, contact Swain at 252-847-5874.