‘Protecting Texas Children’ with Vanessa Sivadge

Dr. Simone Gold talks to pediatric nurse Vanessa Sivadge, who shares her courageous journey as a whistleblower who exposed illegal gender-transition procedures being performed on minors at Texas Children’s Hospital — practices that were secretly funded by Medicaid in violation of state law. Fired for speaking out, visited by the FBI, and later testifying before Congress, Sivadge’s stand for truth, science, and faith sparked legislative change in Texas and a federal civil rights investigation. Her story in this 44-minute video is a striking reminder of the power one person has to protect children and challenge corruption.

 

Editor’s Note: The transcript that follows was automatically generated and lightly edited, so please be aware there could be typos or other small errors. The Stream is working toward a transcription service that does fast, accurate, and reliable work; thank you in advance for your patience!

(00:00) [Music] Welcome to the Gold Report, where we inspire you to be 10% more courageous in your life. Please like, share, and subscribe so you never miss an episode. We have a very inspiring guest on after the break. I’ll be right back. Our medical industry has been objectively compromised in more ways than one.

(00:29) We are performing surgeries on these children and the only people benefiting is the medical industrial complex because the more surgeries that are done, the more money is made. Whether you’re talking about an 8-year-old or an 11year-old, we all know that we can’t be getting true informed consent. You become familiar with the sound a mother makes when you tell her that her child is dead.

(00:54) Today’s guest is Vanessa Sivadge. She is a pediatric nurse. Vanessa was thrust into the controversial world of gender ideology when she made the decision to expose Texas Children’s Hospital for illegally using Medicaid funds for cross sex hormone replacement treatments and transgender procedures for minors.

(01:16) As a result, she was fired from Texas Children’s Hospital, questioned by the FBI, and intimidated by the leftwing media. to say it mildly. However, Vanessa has remained steadfast. Her collaboration with journalist Christopher Rufo in 2024 brought attention to the unethical practices she uncovered.

(01:39) Vanessa’s commitment to upholding a biblical perspective on gender and sexuality, her knowledge and experience as a medical professional, and her devotion to the health and well-being of all children make her well suited for her role as president of Protecting Texas Children. Very excited to have her on the show. Welcome to the show, Vanessa.

(02:00) Welcome to the Gold Report. Oh, thanks for having me today. I appreciate it. Yes. So, I have um looked forward to this interview. I had read about you, I’m not sure, six months or a year, maybe a good year since I’d heard about you, maybe longer. Um, but I love for people to tell their own story in their own words.

(02:18) I have already told the audience that you were and are a pediatric nurse and that you saw some shenanigans going on and you blew the whistle, but it’s great to hear directly from you as to what you’ve been through. And honestly, you’re a woman after my own heart. Oh, that’s so kind. I really appreciate that.

(02:36) Um, Andy, thank you so much for inviting me on today. Um, I remember so vividly um, hearing you speak um, years ago when we were uh, in the COVID era about um, you were standing on the steps of the Supreme Court if I remember correctly. And that video just that that just went viral just so so quickly. And I just remember just like thanking God for your bravery and for your courage and talking through like scientifically proven and acceptable treatments that were alternative to the vaccine that I just felt were very common sense and you were

(03:12) the person that stood up and like talked about those. And so I really appreciate you. Um I feel like you know this is such an honor for me as well. So thank you. I just I just want before you get into your story, it really warms my heart to hear that because it can’t end with just one person. It it’s ongoing.

(03:30) It’s like a chain. And probably the best thing a person can tell me is that because of what we doctors did on that day, which was seared to my memory, July 27th, 2020, on the steps of the Supreme Court, some people just woke up and they saw a lot of things that they hadn’t seen before.

(03:48) But other people got really inspired and said, “I need to stand up.” And then you know co is one problem that was one problem but now we’re in maybe what the gender ideology problem it goes on and we always need people to stand up. So thank you for saying that and that’s why I said you’re a woman after my own heart because you didn’t just stand on the sidelines when you saw a problem in your world. Yeah.

(04:09) No, I appreciate that. Um so uh to to answer to answer your question um my name is Vanessa Sivadge. I’m a pediatric registered nurse. I live and I work in Houston, Texas. And I’ve had the privilege of uh caring for the health and well-being of kids for the last 10 years.

(04:29) It’s hard to believe it’s been 10 years since I graduated from nursing school because so much has happened in that time. Um so many changes and um just challenges in the field of medicine um in in various you know different different ways. But um to for for me my story really revolves around my um employment at Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston.

(04:55) Uh it’s the largest uh pediatric hospital uh in the United States. It’s one of the most prestigious um it’s uh award-winning and anyone that works there will tell you uh what an honor and a privilege it is to be a part of that team. And that’s truly how I felt for a number of years. Um, I was hired in 2018 and uh received the bulk of my training in the cardiology department and then a couple years later found myself accepting uh a different role in a pediatric multispecialty clinic and that uh was where the endocrinology clinic was held on a weekly basis.

(05:34) And of course under the endocrinology clinic you have your sub-specialties and one of those specialties was the gender clinic. And uh you know I am a Christian and a follower of Christ and so that is what motivates and informs my views on everything. Um but but in addition to being a Christian um I believe in biological truth and following the science as they say.

(06:02) Um and the science has to mean something. uh you can’t just say those words and uh and not be able to back up what you’re saying with some very logical, tangible um proven facts that we have believed for thousands of years. Uh and that is that men and women are biologically distinct.

(06:27) They are uh complimentary roles that God created and they can never be socially uh reassigned redefined or medically reassigned and that’s something that is a fact that is the most foundational fact in medicine that when a doctor is reviewing a patient’s chart for the first time and there’s a there’s a individual sitting in front of them the two most important facts about that person are the biological sex and the age and those two facts determine the course of treatment, the dose of medications and on and on and on and um

(07:02) so to me I’m uh very privileged and honored to to be in this space but I’m also it’s just funny to me because I’m really saying some very common sense things um very basic foundational things that have never been debated up until recently. And so, um, going back to my to my story, I, uh, was employed at one of the multispecialty clinics at Texas Children’s Hospital, and I started, uh, seeing some very concerning practices at my workplace.

(07:38) Um, children and teenagers and young adults would uh, come in through the gender clinic and I would I would kind of observe the doctor’s interaction with them. I would um part of my job was just being that liaison between the parent and the doctor. Um I would help to refill medications. I would u message parents back on our online portal.

(08:02) And so I really got a very unique glimpse into uh this patient population and and what I saw was deeply concerning um for many reasons. A few of those reasons are, you know, almost all of these kids who are finding themselves um as a patient of the gender clinic have some form of uh secondary diagnosis going on.

(08:28) So that means they’re either depressed, they’re on anxiety medication, excuse me, on anxiety medications, um they’re autistic, um they’ve had some uh self harm or suicide attempts in their past. They’ve been to the ER for uh some really risky uh you know, attempts at self harm.

(08:53) Um, and then you have those kids that are just having a really difficult time navigating puberty and maybe they’re the odd ones out. Maybe they don’t fit in with their peer group. Um, and that’s just really hard to kind of see all of this unfold in front of you and and read these stories through their chart as I’m going about my dayto-day.

(09:13) And so, um, and now they find themselves in the gender clinic and they’re they’re being lied to by the doctor. The doctor’s convincing them that if they uh are initiated into this medical path where they become a patient of the pharmaceutical industry for life and that you know whatever internal turmoil is going on or whatever mental struggle is going on will get better.

(09:39) And um that was devastating to me because that’s a lie. And um not not only that, but I believe that parents were also misled and manipulated. Um it’s a very intimidating thing for any parent who loves their child and wants the best for them to sit in a in a in a room and have a doctor in a white lab coat with numerous degrees on the wall look at them and they say and and tell them if you do not affirm your child’s delusion that your child will harm themselves.

(10:15) And no well-intentioned parent uh wants to be responsible for that. And so I always say that that is like the worst form of emotional blackmail that the medical industry has ever pedled to parents. Um it’s it’s so horrifically wrong. And I was seeing all of this at my workplace. Didn’t know what to do.

(10:34) This is the largest children’s hospital in the nation. And I’m just one person. And uh you know I’m not a lawyer. I don’t know my uh my options or or you know the things that I could do to make my concerns known. Um until one day I read an article uh of a whistleblower within Texas Children’s Hospital who had come forward very courageously um and revealed the existence of a secret transgender program in inside the hospital taking place.

(11:06) And the reason I say it’s secret is because the public and the lawmakers in the state of Texas had no idea that this program was underway inside the hospital because the hospital had scrubbed all traces of it from their website. They had erased all evidence that this program was was taking place um inside inside the hospital. Um and so this was a national story that went viral very quickly.

(11:36) Um, and I knew that this was true because I was a nurse working in the program that was supposedly non-existent. According to the hospital, they had they had made numerous statements denying all, you know, knowledge. They had said the program is shutting down. It’s not ex we’ve we’ve stopped everything. And of course, that wasn’t true.

(11:57) And so I knew instantly that I needed to come behind and to affirm the testimony of this brave whistleblower who had come forward somewhere within the hospital. Had no idea who this person was, but I knew that what they had reported was true. So that’s exactly what I did. I became the second anonymous whistleblower and that story came out in May of 2023.

(12:17) Um, and all I did was I just corroborated uh his testimony uh as a nurse working in the gender clinic that was supposedly non-existent. Um, and so a couple of days later, the Texas legislature after um reading this story from from both of us that had had circulated um they voted to um pass SB14.

(12:46) And the reason that’s significant is because there were many uh Democrat members of the Texas legislature who actually flipped their votes and to vote in favor of banning all forms of gender quote unquote gender affirming care for kids. And so that’s largely due to the courage of this first whistleblower who we now know as Dr. Eithan Haim um and just his boldness in coming forward.

(13:11) Oh my gosh. Wow. That’s incredible. I have so many specific questions for you, Vanessa, because I think um I knew your story generally, but let me just fire away. Did you know when you were working in the gender clinic that the Texas state legislature didn’t know of the clinic and that the attorney general that that the hospital had promised the attorney general that this clinic didn’t exist? No, I didn’t.

(13:36) It that’s a good question. Yeah. And I just um it’s it’s so uh it’s such a weird thing because you I just was going to work my job and like the noise the noise on the outside of like what people know or what’s public or what’s not like I was not informed or educated on I was and I want to share with the audience I want to totally validate what Vanessa is saying.

(14:02) God forbid anyone would think she was unaware of something. I that’s why I asked the question. I was an ER doctor for a long time. I would not really have any way of knowing about a big policy decision like that. But I’m pointing it out because it’s kind of interesting that like it’s it’s hiding in plain sight.

(14:18) I mean, the Texas the Texas Children’s Hospital had told the Texas Attorney General that they’re not doing this. Like that was not a secret in the political realm. They they said that that was an agreed upon contract because Texas Attorney General had told Texas Children’s Hospital that we may be charging you with child abuse if you do this.

(14:35) Texas Children’s Hospital backs off and says, “No, no, no. We’re not going to do this.” And so, of course, you know, nobody could conceive of the whole hospital lying. Um, but so they did that. That, you know, legislature and attorney general went on their way. But within the hospital system, there’s all these doctors and all these nurses that are working in the system, which is unbelievably shocking. Yes.

(14:55) Unbelievably like the hubris of of of you know, it’s like stealing a car in broad daylight. So, were there and this is another question I have that I think if I have the questions other people have these questions. So, this bothered you. I love that you said that you it bothered you from a faith perspective because it just violates everything you believe in.

(15:12) But for me equally and you said it too, it’s kind of equally it bothered you from just um an intellectual thinking, scientific intellectual perspective. After all, God gives us a brain, right? God gives us the ability to think through these things. He doesn’t ask us to believe things that are just patently foolish. So the two matched for you.

(15:31) So it is patently foolish to pretend that you can jump one sex to the other. Were other nurses or other doctors in your observation, you know, before you became a whistleblower, were they bothered by this? Did anyone talk about it or was it just kind of like business as usual doing your job? Yeah, that’s a great question.

(15:54) um if there were if if there were conversations that were um questioning this program or even just hesitant about what was really happening. they were taking place in like the dark corners of of the clinic of the hallway because you just didn’t you knew like we we just knew that like this was a politically incorrect opinion and if you were to voice it or to come forward um there would be severe consequences for that.

(16:22) And so I have a lot of compassion for people who are feel feel outnumbered and feel overwhelmed um and don’t know um how they can change uh the the policy and the modus operandi of an entire hospital system and how how they’re running this program, right? Like that’s a very intimidating thing.

(16:49) Um, and so I have I have a lot of compassion for those people because there’s a lot of risks and it’s really scary to come forward. Um, and it I mean that’s exactly what happened to me is ultimately I decided to come forward and I lost my job, right? And so obviously those those risks are worth it and um ultimately you’re not doing any of this to please people.

(17:09) You’re you’re doing it to please God and to help kids, right? And so that has to be your um the the reason your why is is why you come forward is is for those two things. Amazing. So well said. So again though I want to point out for people how close we always are to tyranny. We’re so close to tyranny always because it is most people’s human nature to just go along with the situation that’s set before them.

(17:39) either not to think about it or not to notice it or if they do notice it, they just need to, you know, keep doing their daily life, get in their daily paycheck, go about their business. So, we all have to be aware that we’re very, very close to tyranny all the time, even under the best of times, because you could have a nefarious person or nefarious leader that just takes this concept of nature of going along, getting along, and putting it in the wrong direction.

(18:03) So, I just want people to be aware of that. It actually makes the role of whistleblower unbelievably important in society. You’re not the first, you won’t be the last, but you are a member of a very very small band of human beings. And in fact, I’ve read a book uh some time ago about why whistleblowers even exist in American in human society, right? It goes counter to everything.

(18:26) It’s it puts you behind the eight-ball. Like it puts you really at a disadvantage. So why would this quality that you have of even survived like all these centuries and eons? It’s actually really interesting thoughtful question because it is uncommon and it really is against your own self-interest as it was for me and as it was for Dr. Haim.

(18:45) It’s just kind of an interesting thing because it that trait has existed throughout human history even if it isn’t helpful to the person. Um, I’m just also curious when you um did you ever think that your identity would be revealed? I mean, you went out trying to be anonymous. I know Dr. Haim was trying to be anonymous.

(19:04) What was your expectation or prediction? Yeah. No, I was very um relieved when our Texas legislature had passed uh SB14 banning all kinds of hormones and puberty blockers for kids. And I thought that that was the role I had played in the story. And I was very content and satisfied with that. And so I went back to work, uh, business as usual.

(19:26) Now kids are, you know, under 18, of course, are no are no longer being harmed. Um, and I have a great deal of peace inside because I feel like I, you know, I really battled whether or not I should stay at the hospital at all. For months and months, I was trying to transfer, trying to apply to different other places because I really just had a moral crisis of conscience while I was working there about what I was seeing.

(19:49) Um, but anyways, you know, you go back I went back to work after I came forward anonymously in May of 2023. And in July of 2023, 2 months later, um my husband and I are at home eating dinner with friends. We’re hosting. We’re having a great time. And there’s a there’s a knock on the front door.

(20:08) And my husband and I think that’s odd. You know, it’s 7:00 p.m. on a Monday night. Like, that’s weird. And so we go to open the door and there are two federal agents who are asking for me by name to speak to me about issues at my work and they flash their badges. They said they were from the FBI.

(20:28) Um and they informed me that two things. Number one, they had come to my home because they knew of my views against transgender medicine. They were fully aware of what I believed. And that is a terrifying thing to hear from the government. And the second thing is that I they informed me that I was a person of interest in an investigation targeting a whistleblower.

(20:49) Except they did not refer to him as a whistleblower. They referred to him as a leaker. And in their words, he had violated HIPPA. And so they were wanting to recruit my help in um aiding their investigation to expose his anonymous identity to the world. That was what they said. That’s what that’s what they wanted.

(21:09) And it was terrifying encounter. Um, our Ring camera captured some of this exchange and it was posted on X and I think it was viewed over 6 million times in just a few days. And so it’s a it’s a terrifying thing to um to be the the recipient of the overreach, the weaponization of our government. And um you know I we we had a choice to make at that point but really there was no choice involved because I knew that the the federal agents who were at my door were lying to me. Dr.

(21:43) Haim had not violated HIPPA. Uh Dr. Haim had very carefully according to the letter of the law had redacted all patient information from his whistleblowing. And um I knew that they were just trying to coerce and intimidate me into a into aiding them. And so, um, you know, I talked with my husband after they left and I was like, I can’t believe I can’t believe that this is happening.

(22:08) Under the Biden Department of Justice, more and more um, man, for those couple of years, we saw all kinds of people getting, you know, getting SWAT teams at their front door. We have we had pro-lifers who were praying outside of an abortion facility and they got hauled away in front of their families at like 5:00 in the morning, you know, and so like I know that I wasn’t and thank you know obviously Dr. Haim

(22:32) went through much much worse than what I did. Um but it was still terrifying. It was still something that you never think will come to your door. Um, and so in the months that followed that, the reason that I ended up going public with my name and my identity, um, is because we knew that after the FBI had come to our home, we couldn’t stay silent about what had happened and what we had experienced.

(22:56) So that really was the catalyst to our decision to come forward publicly. Um, and the reason I ended up coming forward publicly was last June in 2024, um, I discovered, um, uh, evidence that Texas Children’s Hospital had not only lied about their transgender program, the existence of it, but they were also billing Texas Medicaid for the sex change treatments and gender transition procedures for kids that they were doing.

(23:27) Um, and that is against the Texas Medicaid policy. It clearly states that taxpayer dollars can never be used to fund any kind of gender transition treatments. So the hospital was very blatantly violating Texas law. They were, you know, you know this, like you look at a patient’s chart and on the the face sheet of the chart, it tells you some basic facts and also the insurance that they have on file.

(23:51) This is like everyone that is working within the patient’s chart that is caring for this child sees what insurance they have. And I was seeing Medicaid, CHIP, Star, all of these taxpayer funded insuranceances that were listed on file of these kids. And I’m thinking this is against the law.

(24:10) Like the the hospital is committing fraud, you know. And so that’s what happened in June of 2024. I collaborated with journalist Christopher Rufo, who is an amazing person, amazing journalist, and um came forward to to reveal how Texas Children’s Hospital was defrauding Texas Medicaid. And um uh the hospital promptly placed me on leave the day after um and 2 months later in August of 2024, they fired me.

(24:37) And I believe that this was obviously a retaliatory move um because I came forward to voice my concerns that were um very much against the the transgender ideology of the day. And um so I have no regrets over the actions I’ve taken or the things I’ve said. Um but yeah, I they did fire me and I have a give and go that I’ve set up because um I believe that I was terminated um unlawfully. Oh my goodness gracious.

(25:10) Of course you are. It’s practically like the definition of uh illegalities. There was a whistleblower years ago within the CDC and they tried to fire him and they couldn’t and he’s still there. He had blown the whistle. his name is escaping me right now, but um it’s you have whistleblower protection.

(25:26) Um I don’t know if you’re planning a lawsuit or in the middle of a lawsuit, but um you know that’s a long road too. So we can talk about that offline. So what um what I find so in in that month from when the FBI till till they fired you, do you think that the hospital knew that it was you and they that just the final straw for them was the was you going public or do you think the FBI had told them like I’m just kind of curious from the hospital’s perspective? Um that’s a great question.

(26:00) I was anonymous. My identity was anonymous until I came forward publicly in June of 2024. Um Oh, perfect. I got it now. I misunderstood the date. Sorry. Yeah. No, that’s okay. One of the things you said earlier, you know, kind of when you first started explaining your perspective.

(26:19) Um the irony of this whole thing happening, you know, in 2025 is not lost on me as a physician. We live in a time where we have DNA analysis. we have ultrasounds, you know, pretty much from the practically the moment of conception. But the fact that we have such factual data that of course you can never change sex.

(26:39) Um I find that very troubling that they were able, you know, when I came out, I think the thing that I found most alarming wasn’t that people wondered if hydroxychloroquine worked for CO because CO was a new disease to people, but people started saying hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin were unsafe.

(26:56) And I remember thinking, wow, if you could make people think that hydroxychloroquine is unsafe and ivermectin is unsafe. I mean, it won the Nobel Prize in medicine 2015. Wow, you can make them believe anything. So there were stories like that too. I mean, wow. If you can make people think a boy is a girl and a girl is a boy and it’s all very fluid in an era of DNA chromosomal analysis when you can also see that, you know, organs like, you know, 6 weeks, not really six weeks, maybe seven, eight, 8, 10 weeks.

(27:21) Like I find that very interesting. Like so centuries ago when they didn’t have this data, we knew what was true. Now we have all this data and they’re trying to make people think things are true that are not true. You ever just like reflected on that? Like we have more proof than ever that what you’re saying is true. Yeah.

(27:37) Well, I think you know this what you’re saying is absolutely so true. And I saw it. I was confronted with this face to face two weeks ago when um I was uh I was I was asked to uh appear as a witness in front of the uh House Judiciary Committee, their sub committee on the Constitution and Limited Government.

(27:59) And so they had a hearing on April 9th in Washington DC. And uh I was super, you know, obviously so honored, so grateful to be included along with Dr. Haim. And you know, one of the one of the uh congresswomen uh ranking member Scanlon uh which uh her my testimony is up on X right now, but specifically I want to address kind of what you mentioned.

(28:26) She um she asked me a series of leading questions in which her ultimate goal was to discredit me by attacking my credentials as a as a registered nurse. And this is a common tactic that the left uses when because the truth is not on their side. They are divorced from reality and from truth and from what is good and right. And so their uh their tactic is to discredit people’s credentials or if that doesn’t work they will attack their character.

(28:57) They will vilify them. They’ll slander them. And so uh she she levied like a series of questions in which she said are you a psychologist? Do you have did you get your medical degree? Are you a psychiatrist? And um you know my response was very simple. All I said was um I’m a registered nurse and I have common sense and I know the difference between right and wrong.

(29:22) And that disarmed her because what I did there was I just leveled the playing field because really people can have credentials and experience and that that’s all well and good right um that but regardless of a person’s credentials um intellectual honesty is the only requirement to having a seat at the table like the importance of being able to persuade a person or change someone’s mind um with the truth with logical, sound, rational arguments and and thoughts, right? But like the other side, the left can’t do that because the

(30:00) truth isn’t on their side. And so that was like in full display. Um and you know, it was it was a really fascinating uh fascinating hearing. Um I was really honored to be a part of it. But that was just one one small glimpse into like how the left treats people that they disagree with.

(30:21) I actually I actually watched it. Um Dr. Hine put it all out there and I saw I saw when she did that to you. You were unbelievably cool under fire. Totally give you props. It’s really not easy. I mean it’s it’s they come at you like they’re you know Moses, you know, like on Mount Si, right? Like they’re the the arbiter of truth and they come at you and you were very calm and your answer was very disarming.

(30:42) And I want to share with you kind of funny on the opposite perspective. Um I know that they go with this credentials. They and they go like are you a doctor? Are you a psychologist? And then you know and then when they push they go are you well if you’re a doctor are you an infectious disease doctor if you’re an infectious disease doctor are you a viologist infectious disease doctor right so what’s funny and I want you to like chuckle when this happens to you again Vanessa is so I’m a physician and

(31:04) an attorney there’s probably only a few thousand in the nation it’s a very uncommon combination for lots of reasons I went to Stanford I went to Chicago medical school I went to like the best schools the best grades top top top top top perfect stellar reputation and that still wasn’t enough do you know what I’m Like I’m just sharing with you that like I love your answer because it like they didn’t care either if I was a physician and an attorney either.

(31:26) Like I know exactly what I’m talking about in both arenas and it’s pretty funny. So I’m so glad that you said yeah know I’ve got common sense. I’m a registered nurse. Um she she was uh vile. I watched that little interaction. You were very calm. So I mean where are we going to go with this? Like only um only a sliver of the population is going to be able to weigh in on anything.

(31:48) I mean, that’s like the end result of these types of questions. Yeah. No, I just think that you can’t let you can’t allow the left to um lead you down a path that they want you to go down. You can’t you can’t follow their line of of illegitimate questioning. Um and again like I’m I was just struck by she essentially like um insulted the entire nursing profession in one fell swoop and I thought nurses were heroes you know a couple years ago they were like praising nurses and healthcare workers you I mean you know and so it’s

(32:28) just it’s never about the credentials it’s always about the ideology behind the credentials. What I’m sharing with you and sharing for the audience is that it’s not actually about the credentials. So when somebody starts asking about the credentials, what they’re trying to do is insult you.

(32:40) They’re trying to use negatives pejoratives. Years and years ago, we heard it. I never paid attention to the vaccine issue years ago. I’ve had all the shots. My kids had shots. Like it just wasn’t on my radar screen at all. But I remember even years ago thinking, “Wow, the word antivaxxer is kind of a pejorative.

(32:55) ” Like, you know, we’re not allowed to say like the “n” word. You’re not allowed to say like other nasty pejorative words, right? Why are you allowed to say antitax? It’s clearly pejorative. That’s what they’re doing when they’re asking if you’re this or if you’re that.

(33:05) you’re not quite high enough to be having an opinion on these things and I’m sharing with the world cuz it’s kind of funny like at what point do you get high enough like I literally have an MDJD like are you kidding me like I graduated med school of 23 like that also wasn’t good enough so like just just so you feel comfort comforted there isn’t any credential that would have been good enough I mean Dr.

(33:24) time had done medical school and surgical residency and there was one questioner who said something well did you report this to the proper medical authorities? I burst out laughing. I was like he is the proper medical authority. It was very very funny to me. It was I thought they looked ridiculous quite frankly.

(33:41) Well, it was it was still like a very effective and worthwhile time. And so the reason I say that is because just two days ago um the uh office office of civil rights under health and human services um formally announced that they are opening and initiating an investigation into Texas Children’s Hospital for terminating my employment illegally and unlawfully.

(34:06) And so, um, this comes on the heels of like so so many prayers and so, um, so much effort and resources and time devoted to, um, um, yeah, just sounding the alarm, coming forward, talking about what what’s happened to me and what um, other people also who have been illegitimately terminated.

(34:28) Um, and so I’m I’m very very relieved and very happy that um our federal government is now getting involved and they are um officially opening this investigation into the hospital for um discriminating against my religious beliefs. Ultimately I saw that and I was about to ask you that. So our timing is perfect. Um that office of civil rights in the HHS really has a lot of power and I’m glad to see them using it.

(34:52) Um this has been a targeting of people who come to the world with a biblical worldview. Um, also those people tend to be politically conservative, but so that’s very good. I’m gonna definitely be keeping an eye on that. I wanted to ask you on a human level. So you’re going through this absolutely tumultuous experience starting about two years ago until today.

(35:13) Did people help you? Were there people who um helped strengthen you in this journey and your growth as a person, as a human being? like how how has I know I know you don’t regret it. You’ve said that and I know just having lived it myself I don’t regret it. It was the right thing to do. I can sleep at night.

(35:31) But I’m wondering you know over the last couple of years how has your perspective on people, humanity and just life and God and perspective like how has that shifted or changed in the last couple of years? Wow. That is um very that’s like a profound question. I’ve never been asked that before but thank you for that.

(35:53) Um, wow. Um, you know, I first I just have to acknowledge my husband because without him, without his support without his um his just he’s just my rock and I could have never done or come forward and and done the things that I’ve done uh without without him by my side. and just he’s my greatest cheerleader and my best friend and um I’m just so he is like my secret weapon.

(36:26) I mean could not do it without him. Um and uh you know so so many people have reached out from all over the world. Um many people have donated to my gifts and go um and I’ve I’ve just been overwhelmed with support and with encouraging words from all over the world. people email me and they just have so many just amazing and encouraging things to to say and to share.

(36:53) Um, and so many people who have who are also have also either gone through similar things that I have or they’re currently um kind of operating in this in this really um hostile environment whether that’s in the medical field or elsewhere and they just want advice. They just want to know what to do.

(37:12) And so, um, you know, there’s a lot of things that I’ve learned, um, since coming forward publicly. And, uh, one of those things is just, and on a very superficial, this is not deep or anything, but on a very superficial level, like, um, how to how to deal with journalis journalists and the press and the media.

(37:31) Um, I had never spoken in public in my life as a nurse. Like, I was never I was not a public speaker. I did not I never did that. never anticipated having to to to be forward and front-facing like that. Um, and that’s for me was a really really hard and and terrifying uh skill to kind of perfect and to get better at at talking with people and like I’m talking to you and, you know, answering questions from hostile sources and hostile media and learning um how everyone has kind of an agenda and an angle.

(38:05) And so I still consider myself to be very naive and very green and I’m I’m just trying to figure it out. I’m not a professional or anything. I’m just trying to do the next right thing for the glory of God. And so um but but it’s been a really really interesting journey for sure. I love that. Uh I love that answer.

(38:24) You know, I remember back in 2020 uh I guess doctors a little bit more public than than nurses, but I was also not public in any way. I was very much a private citizen. And when I became famous, you know, like you overnight, just basically overnight from from like a Monday to a Tuesday, I was thinking, how do I talk to journalists? How do I talk to all these people like out there? And um it definitely helps.

(38:44) So my advice to people who are listening, it definitely helps if you are clear as to your why. Vanessa was very clear at the top of this, you know, interview about why she does what she does and, you know, the solid foundation of her beliefs. And that gives people a lot of strength and a lot of courage even in brand new scary endeavors. It helps immeasurably.

(39:05) It’s incalculable to have a support team around you. It’s, you know, it’s quite ideal if it is your spouse, but if it is not your spouse, there it is just infinitely easier and more doable if there’s people around you. But I also want to encourage you if you’ve listened and you’ve heard Vanessa say this, there’s a lot of people that are rooting you on. They’re rooting Vanessa on.

(39:26) they were rooting me on and they’ve just been silent because they didn’t know about you yet. So, if you’re in a situation in your life and and you’re seeing something wrong, I encourage you, Vanessa encourages you to speak up, stand up, and do something because there’s a lot of people that will be completely um affected and empowered by you doing the right thing.

(39:44) And Vanessa, you’ve had that effect on a lot of people. Yes. No, I couldn’t have said that better myself. And and not only that, I just want to mention this briefly. Um but now we have a an administration who recognizes and values the contributions of whistleblowers. So much so that um when this press release was announced 2 days ago, the hospital is now being investigated for terminating me.

(40:10) Um in the same vein, they uh launched a um essentially um where is this? they um they launched an online portal where whistleblowers can submit a tip or a complaint um regarding the chemical and surgical mutilation of kids um to the government. And so the government is essentially rewarding and incentivizing and encouraging the a average everyday person um to be courageous and to come forward with what they know.

(40:40) Whether that’s what they know or maybe they’re just suspicious, maybe there’s just some red flags like there were for me. But I think it’s absolutely remarkable that with the changing of of this administration, we’ve seen a night and day difference where the average everyday person is being empowered and encouraged um that their contributions matter and what they know matters.

(41:01) And so ultimately this is not for personal gain. Of course, this is because we want to help children. We want to help kids. We want to protect kids and protect our patients and help our patients and advocate for them. Um, and and the government is now giving us an avenue to do that.

(41:17) And so I’m just so I’m so excited about that. So we’re we’re going to wrap up, but yeah, I Well, I’m going to we’re going to wrap up in a moment. I want to make sure people know how to find you. But that was an excellent um kind of closing concept and thought which is I want to remind people that Vanessa was working in the endocrine department of the largest children’s hospital either in the nation or in the world.

(41:42) Huge children’s hospital endocrine clinic under that was the gender clinic. So, this is a clinic where doctors and nurses and patients and family members are going all the time. And it was illegal. The the president or the CEO, the board of the hospital had told the Texas Attorney General, they’re not doing this, but they were literally doing it in broad daylight.

(42:04) I’m harping on that because you viewer might be in a situation like that. You might be seeing something and it appears completely normal on the surface. Oh, this is normal and this is fine and everyone’s going about their business. But if it feels strange to you or weird to you, there’s now an opportunity to say something.

(42:20) We want to encourage you to just kind of examine. Look around the world. When you go back to our our founding fathers and our Bill of Rights, you know, these guys understood that the power of government is awesome and is huge and that the freedom really rests in the people themselves. The freedom rested in Vanessa standing up. Things change.

(42:39) Now we have an entirely new administration with new policies. So, everyone watching this has that same opportunity in their life. Just kind of notice what’s around you and there’s opportunities to speak up and do up. Vanessa, I want to make sure that everyone can find you. Um, you know, you’re a very interesting person.

(42:56) So, please share with people either your website or your socials. Yeah. Um, you can find me on X. It’s Vanessa B Sivadge. Um, and you can also go to my website. I’m the founder and president of an advocacy nonprofit organization called Protecting Texas Children. And you can uh read more about that at protecting texaschildren.com.

(43:20) Great. And please spell your name for X. I said it at the top of the hour, but I hadn’t spelled it for people. Yeah, it’s Vanessa and then Sivadge is s i v a d g e. Well, I’m going to if I don’t follow you, which I think I do, Vanessa, but I’m going to double check that I do, um, I want to make sure everyone follows you. I think it’s very cool.

(43:45) I’m going to be paying attention and we’re looking forward to some, uh, some, you know, good results from that civil rights investigation and I wish you the very best. Your patience very blessed to have you. Very blessed to have you and God speed in all that you do. Thank you so much for having me. Thank you.

(44:08) Thank you for joining me on the Gold Report where we hope to inspire you to be 10% more courageous in your daily life. See you next time.

The post ‘Protecting Texas Children’ with Vanessa Sivadge appeared first on The Stream.

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