For Dr. Mellyna McGlothlin, life has been an ebb-and-flow journey of tough currents and smooth seas. Yet from her early years growing up in Brazil (and long before Disney’s forgetful fish Dory coined the phrase), Mellyna’s life motto has been to “just keep swimming.”

“Growing up, the water was always my safe haven,” she explains. “Where I would go to recharge and feel more grounded.” Indeed, Mellyna’s enduring connection to water has given her valuable perspective in patience and perseverance—something that has served her well throughout life, from her prolonged journey to Colorado to her tireless pursuit of a career in family medicine.

“I first came to Colorado in 2000 to visit my aunt who was living here,” says Mellyna. “I fell in love with this place. There was just something about it that made me really happy,” she smiles. After her initial visit to the mountainous state, Mellyna knew that she would someday make Colorado her home. Yet it wasn’t until 2009 that the waters of life guided her back to the area, when she attended medical school in Denver. After nine years of feeling like the shore was out of reach, Mellyna was finally where she wanted to be.

But even after landing in Colorado (with no ocean in sight), her swim against the current wasn’t quite complete. During her years in residency, Mellyna’s life motto was a constant motivator—encouraging her to swim on. “My husband and I had both of our kids during my residency,” Mellyna shares. “Lucas, who is now two and a half, and Maia, who will be one soon.” She gives a slight chuckle as she remembers this busy time in her life. “It was very challenging being a new mom and an intern,” she admits, “trying to find my identity as a physician, a spouse, and a parent.”

And yet, Mellyna didn’t sink under the new pressures of motherhood or her budding medical career. Ever the optimist, she kept her eyes above the waves and—you guessed it—just kept swimming.

Now, as she begins her role as a family physician and doctor of osteopathy (DO) at Associates in Family Medicine, rough waves have at last given way to calmer waters for Mellyna. That’s not to say that her life motto has fallen by the wayside.

“I often tell my patients to just keep swimming,” Mellyna says. “When you’re making healthy lifestyle changes, you may not see the results or benefits you want right away,” she explains. “But it doesn’t mean you’re not on your way to achieving your goal. You have to keep swimming, regardless of outside forces trying to pull you under. If you give up, you’ll only sink.”

This ability to be a champion for patients through their various stages of life is what prompted Mellyna to take the plunge into family medicine. “I love being able to create relationships with patients, getting to know them sometimes in a way that no other person knows them,” she expresses.

For someone as hands-on, positive, and determined as Mellyna, a diversified family practice—with patients of all ages and everything from OB to osteopathy—is the ideal place for her to make waves and leave her mark on others. With the tenacity it takes to handle low and high tides, Mellyna is ready to dive into the many challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. “I am where I’m meant to be,” she says emphatically. “It’s challenging, yes, but I have no doubt that it’s where I’m meant to be.”