The Carpenter Lady

Oh yes, I understand the 'small-town doctor' dilemma. My mother was repeatedly misdiagnosed by successive NHS doctors (NHS - the 'free at the point of treatment' health service here in the UK). By the time an accurate diagnosis was made, her condition was effectively untreatable, so I can empathise to some extent with this scenario.
As for the prose, the title (of the piece/given to your mother) is an effective means of conveying that sense of awe to which you refer in the concluding paragraph, & in conjunction with the personal references (e.g. to 'mom'), gives emphasis to contrasting, but complementary perspectives; yours - intimacy and detached admiration, and that of others, the beneficiaries of her pragmatism and altruism.
And giving mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to puppies?! That's definitely going beyond the call of duty :>