Why the Maternal Equity Experience Came First

Sometimes our greatest trials become the foundation for our greatest assignments. — The Purpose Journal | Every purpose has a story.

In my last journal entry, I briefly shared about the health scare in 2014 that gave me the push I needed to finally start my business. Today, I want to share more about that experience and how God has used one of the most difficult seasons of my life to shape something far greater than I could have imagined.

A Purpose Bigger Than Myself

In 2014, I was working at North Carolina State University at the African American Cultural Center under the umbrella of the Office for Institutional Equity and Diversity. I had the privilege of working alongside an incredible team that planned events to raise awareness about issues impacting the African American community.

During that time, I had the honor of meeting history makers like Rev. C.T. Vivian and Dick Gregory, hearing from influential authors like Harriet Washington, and welcoming speakers such as Iyanla Vanzant. I genuinely loved the work I was doing because I felt like I was contributing to something much bigger than myself.

Little did I know, God was preparing me for a shift that would change the course of my life.

The Headache That Changed Everything

One morning on my way to work, I developed a headache.

At first, I wasn't concerned. I assumed it would go away after taking a Tylenol.

It didn't.

After several days, I scheduled an appointment with my primary care physician. She believed it was most likely an ear infection and referred me to an ear, nose, and throat specialist.

The ENT didn't think my ears were the problem.

Instead, he recommended I see a neurologist.

By then, the headaches had become more severe, but I was still going to work and trying to maintain my normal routine.

One afternoon, while walking with a coworker during lunch, I suddenly became extremely dizzy. I told her everything that had been happening over the previous weeks. She strongly encouraged me to see a neurologist and even gave me the name of the physician she had seen herself.

Later that same day, the dizziness became so intense that a coworker had to drive me home.

I scheduled the appointment for the following week.

The Phone Call I'll Never Forget

The weekend before my appointment, my family traveled to Atlanta to celebrate my cousin's high school graduation.

By then, the headaches had become unbearable.

I remember lying in bed crying because nothing seemed to relieve the pain.

When I finally met with the neurologist, my symptoms had progressed significantly. In addition to the severe headaches, I was now experiencing numbness in my arm, heart palpitations, blurred vision, and persistent dizziness.

She immediately ordered an MRI for that same day.

My mother drove me to the imaging appointment.

As we were driving home afterward, my phone rang.

It was the neurologist.

I'll never forget what she said.

"We need you to go to the nearest emergency room immediately. We found a blood clot in your brain."

In that moment, everything changed.

Learning My New Reality

I was admitted to the hospital that same day.

The doctors diagnosed me with a rare condition called cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST)—a blood clot in one of the veins that drains blood from the brain. They believed it had most likely been caused by birth control pills I had started taking only a few weeks before my symptoms began.

The weeks that followed were filled with uncertainty.

I experienced memory issues.

There were moments when it literally felt like my brain was on fire.

There were nights I lay awake afraid I wouldn't wake up the next morning.

There were countless doctor's appointments and the difficult process of adjusting to a new normal.

Then, sometime later, I experienced a pulmonary embolism.

After that, I was placed on blood thinners for life.

It was a diagnosis that would permanently change how I viewed my health—and eventually, how I viewed my purpose.

So... Why the Maternal Equity Experience?

You may be wondering what all of this has to do with the Maternal Equity Experience.

The answer is...

Everything.

Today, I am a 46-year-old woman who has never had children, yet I still desire to become a mother someday.

More importantly, I'm a woman of faith who has received a promise from God that I would bear children of my own.

When you consider my age and medical history, you can probably understand why many people would see that as impossible.

You can probably also imagine some of the conversations I've had during visits with my OB/GYN over the years.

To be honest...

Many of those conversations have been discouraging.

And I know I'm not the only woman who has walked away from a doctor's appointment feeling discouraged, overwhelmed, or afraid.

A Conversation That Needs to Change

We are living in a time when more women than ever are becoming mothers after the age of 35, and many are first-time moms.

Yet these pregnancies are still commonly labeled as "geriatric pregnancies."

I've never liked that term.

Personally, I don't feel old at all.

More importantly, I believe the conversation needs to evolve.

Women deserve honest conversations about risk factors without losing hope.

They deserve information that empowers them to advocate for themselves.

They deserve compassionate care that recognizes both the medical realities and the emotional weight of these conversations.

As I've listened to more stories over the years, I've become increasingly aware of the number of women—particularly women of color—who experience life-threatening complications during pregnancy and postpartum.

Many of those stories have one thing in common.

Awareness came too late.

Where Faith and Medicine Meet

For many years, faith and medicine have often been viewed as though they exist on opposite ends of the spectrum.

I don't believe they have to.

My hope is that the Maternal Equity Experience becomes a place where faith and medically informed insight can exist in the same room.

A place where women don't feel forced to choose between trusting God and understanding the medical information they need to make informed decisions.

A place where families, healthcare professionals, faith leaders, and community organizations can learn from one another.

A place where questions are welcomed.

Where awareness grows.

Where hope is restored.

And where lives are impacted.

Why We Chose to Start Here

When God gave me the vision for Aligned Purpose Agency, He could have led us to launch with any number of initiatives.

Instead, He led us here.

Looking back, I don't believe that's a coincidence.

I believe God has a way of taking our greatest challenges and using them to prepare us for our greatest assignments.

The Maternal Equity Experience is more than the first event produced by Aligned Purpose Agency.

It's deeply personal.

It's rooted in my own journey.

It's rooted in God's faithfulness.

And it's rooted in the belief that every woman deserves access to information, encouragement, compassionate care, and hope.

This is only the beginning of a conversation that I pray continues long after the event ends.

Because if one woman leaves feeling more informed...

More confident...

More equipped to advocate for herself...

Or more hopeful than when she arrived...

Then every step of this journey will have been worth it.