Mid-South businesswoman Rodneisha E. McMillan survives a potentially fatal experience, emerges as a successful entrepreneur
Andre Johnson 
Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you; But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when His glory is revealed. (1 Peter 4:12-13 NIV)
A LIVING TESTIMONY
June 2, 2011 will forever be remembered as the day that changed the overall landscape of Rodneisha E. McMillan’s life.
As McMillan’s recalls, it was supposed to have been a jubilant, festive day, considering it was her birthday.
Then, just like that, a rather shocking, life-altering turn of events had transpired.
“I had a hemorrhagic stroke on my 30th birthday,” McMillan, during an interview this week with Making Headline News said, recalling the memorable, tear-jerking developments that could have very well given way to a premature death. “I was experiencing a terrible headache, so I took some medicine and laid down.”
Consequently, things seemingly had taken a turn for the worst for a once vibrant, young woman, whose life was suddenly hanging in the balance.
But God…
“When I woke up, it was three days later in the ICU (and I was) on a ventilator,” McMillan recalled.
MORE ON 1ST CHOICE EST LLC: https://www.1stchoiceest.org/
In what undoubtedly were a dramatic turn of events, McMillan emerged from what essentially was the darkest hour of her life only to miraculously finish what she started.
“After a month in the hospital, I jumped back in school to finish my degree,” she explained. “Once that was complete in October 2011, I moved to Atlanta armed with my degree and 13 years of experience. I just knew I was going to get a good job.”
After landing a few less-than-respectable and underpaying gigs, McMillan sensed it was time to delve off into the entrepreneurship industry which, much to her delight, proved to the ideal move for a young, progressive walking miracle of a businesswoman who had so much life ahead of her.
“I decided to become a CPR instructor to add another skill to my resume to compete for a job,” McMillan said. I tried that route, but quickly learned that I didn’t need a job to make money teaching CPR.”
Today, McMillan has gone to great lengths to become a fixture an accomplished CPR professional.
A native Gary, Indiana, McMillan is owner and CEO of 1st Choice Emergency and Safety Training LLC, her Hattiesburg, Mississippi-based company whose strategic mission is centered largely on providing high-quality service and customer satisfaction.
“No matter if it is CPR training for specially trained staff or an informational session for the community, we will do everything we can to meet your expectations,” said a spokesperson for McMillan’s 1st Choice EST LLC.
Interestingly, 1st Choice EST LLC has become a fixture for offering a variety of informative and essential courses, most notably:
- CPR/AED
- First Aid
- BLS Healthcare Provider
- OSHA Bloodborne Pathogens
- Wilderness First Aid
- Advanced Bleeding Control
- Safe Sitter
- Train The Trainer
- Pet CPR & First Aid
- Philips AED Sales and Consultation
- Health and Safety Consulting
- Employee In-Service Coordination
- Emergency Preparedness Classes
- Health Fair Coordination
- Friend and Family Non-Certification Classes
- Public Speaking /Free Info Sessions and,
- Church Health Ministry Development.
For McMillan, that her venture has enjoyed a considerable amount of success in recent years has been nothing short of a God-manifested blessing, of sorts, she said.
“The true blessing in my choice (to start a business) came when as a recently separated mother of four that were ages two, five, seven and 13 in 2014, I had the desire to have full control of my schedule with the flexibility to manage my children while also earning enough to live in a safe neighborhood,” McMillan explained. “Not to mention having that stroke had really slowed me down.
“There was no way I could have kept up with a 9-to-5 (job) and raise four kids alone without either neglecting them or having another stroke and possibly not surviving. I had to make a choice between the career that I worked hard for or my kids and my life.”
To her credit, McMillan deemed it a foregone conclusion to choose the latter and, as a result, the results have been overwhelmingly favorable — which is a far cry from what appeared was a near-death experience nine years ago.
“I love teaching others how to save lives and providing emergency care just as much as having the ability to take time off to spend with my kids without needing to request time off,” McMillan said.
In addition to providing an array of essential services, McMillan’s immeasurable gifts through her business are steadily attracting more of a national presence.
That’s because she has been afforded the golden opportunity to put her professional life-saving skills on display in such places as Arizona, California, Oregon, Washington (state), Virginia, Indiana, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, Arkansas, Kentucky, New Jersey, Ohio, Illinois, Missouri, Nevada, Texas, North Carolina, South Carolina, Mississippi, Tennessee, Utah, Pennsylvania, and Maryland, among other establishments.
Interestingly, McMillan customarily teaches private instructor classes nationwide to groups of roughly three to six individuals, she said.
And, on July 24, she is scheduled to teach a CPR instructor course in Las Vegas from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. PST, an event that is open to the public and will include lunch, as well as and a CPR business crash course. Seating is “extremely limited,” she said, and guidelines will be enforced amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I’ve been blessed to stumble into a fun business that educates others and pays well, but my life and kids will always come first,” said McMillan, “and 1st Choice EST LLC affords me that opportunity.”
That, after all, is a far cry from what appeared was a near-death experience nine years ago.
For more information about Mid-South Businesswoman Rodneisha E. McMillan of 1st Choice Emergency and Safety Training LLC, or to inquire about her courses, call 1-800-299-0172 (Ext. 700), or connect with her via social at Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/1stchoiceest/; Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/1stchoiceest/; Twitter: https://twitter.com/1stChoiceEST. Also, send email to [email protected].
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EDITOR’S NOTE: If you are an entrepreneur, business owner, producer, author, athlete, musician, barber, life coach, motivational speaker, cosmetologist, tax preparer, model, or pastor/minister who is seeking exposure and would like to share your story with an in-depth news feature, call Reporter Andre Johnson at 901-690-6587 or Facebook message him under “Andre T. Johnson” for details.
Andre Johnson is the award-winning Founder and Publisher for Making Headline News. A 2000 graduate of the University of Memphis School of Journalism and a former staff reporter of sports for the Memphis Commercial Appeal newspaper, Johnson covers the NBA Southwest Division from Dallas, Texas. To reach Johnson, send email to [email protected] or to [email protected]. Also, follow him on Twitter @AJ_Journalist or Instagram at @makingheadlinenews.
