HEALTH &HEIGHTS: HOW A COMMITMENT TO HEALING LED TO GREATER HEIGHTS FOR A GEORGIA SOUTHERN NURSING STUDENT
It happened in a cardiovascular intensive care ward. Leighann Pilkington was finishing a shift as a travel nurse when she witnessed her patient being assaulted — and, despite her best efforts, there was nothing she could do to prevent it.
Like many medical professionals, Pilkington has a strong commitment to caring for her patients and helping people heal. But, following the incident in 2017, her confidence in health care was shaken, and she had to reevaluate her career choice.
“Every part of who I was fell apart and I had to put the pieces back together,” she shared. “Why was I doing this if I couldn’t protect my patients?”
Pilkington’s search for a new sense of purpose led her to Istanbul, Turkey. With nothing to her name except a bicycle, she and a friend pedaled from Turkey to Rome, Italy.
“It changed my life,” she said. “Spending all that time on a bike, I had to spend a lot of time with myself.”
With plenty of time to process, Pilkington took courage from the support of family and friends following her travel updates online and found inspiration in podcasts about the latest studies in health. One research study in particular captured her attention: the use of psychedelics to treat mental health conditions.
Some psychedelics are already being used with profound success in the states where they are legalized, she was fascinated to discover, while others are being researched for their effectiveness in treating depression, PTSD and even addiction.
“It seems to be able to provide people with a dramatic shift in perspective that allows them to move forward in their lives,” she explained. “Where before they were stuck in a cycle of trauma or depression, [the treatment] allows for neuroplasticity, creating a period of time when your brain is able to build new neural networks a bit easier.”
The emerging practice reignited Pilkington’s passion for healing, moving her to specialize in mental health care and holistic treatments. After returning to Georgia, she began working as a nurse again at mental health clinics, where many of her colleagues had been educated through the graduate nursing program at Georgia Southern University. Their success stories inspired her to take the next step toward becoming a nurse practitioner, and she enrolled in the Post-Bachelor of Science in Nursing to Doctor of Nursing Practice (Post-BSN-DNP) program with a specialization in psychiatric mental health.
The online program gave Pilkington the flexibility to continue her own journey of healing. Looking for a cathartic outlet, she discovered the aerial arts, a sport in which athletes combine acrobatics and dance while suspended in the air, at a studio in Savannah and quickly reached a competitive skill level.
“There are a lot of life lessons learned in aerial,” she reflected. “In my last routine, there was this big drop that was very challenging and took me months to get, and I started talking with my therapist because I was really struggling with it. I had attached my identity to it, so if it didn’t go well, I felt like a failure.
“Once I worked through that, I was able to do the drop, no problem. Right now, I’m working on letting loose and moving in a way that I want to move. One thing I’ve been saying to myself lately, whenever I get nervous, is that it’s OK to be yourself, because that’s the only person I want to be.” After competing locally, she moved on to national and international championships, earning second place in the 2023 Pole and Aerial World Cup and fourth in the 2024 Pole and Aerial World Championship, held in Italy. Eager to support her success, Pilkington’s professors worked with her on her final exam schedule so she wouldn’t miss competing on the world stage.
“During orientation, I remember one of the professors saying they are here to mentor,” she recalled. “And that was to the whole class. I was really glad he said that, because it shifted my perspective and how I look at them. It’s nice to feel that support from our professors.”
Pilkington looked thoughtful as she recounted the challenges she’s overcome since that day in the intensive care ward. As she anticipates graduating early from the Post-BSN-DNP program with a master’s in nursing this year, she is confident in her desire to help others heal and reach their own goals, both through her qualifications as a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner and as an athlete.
“I really appreciate the journey of it,” she said. “It’s a journey of growth and getting yourself to a place that you didn’t even realize you could get to, whether that’s your physical limits or your mental limits. It’s just about making that commitment to yourself and putting in the effort and getting somewhere that you never thought you could be.”
—Holly Sproule