approached things differently.
“Do your patient questionnaire. They ask you those questions for a reason so maybe if I had given that info to the doctor he would have said ‘Hey let’s go ahead and put you on some better preventative medication just in case.’” Carter-Williams adds. “Those conversations are important and need to be had, but you also have to hold the people next to you accountable–hold the doctors accountable.
“In the Black culture, we have this thing where ‘it’s my business.’ You hear Uncle Charlie passed away but nobody talks about Uncle Charlie having high blood pressure, diabetes–all these things and he’s a direct descendant of you. What are the chances that I can pick up those health issues because of Uncle Charlie? I think those conversations are really important.” she adds.
The influencer has also passed this mindsight along to her children, including her daughter who is on blood pressure medication after some persistence from her mom to see a doctor for chronic migraine.
Be the “CEO” of your own body
Carter-Williams’ journey has also inspired her to do advocacy work in hopes that others will be the “CEO” of their own bodies.
“I have this thing now where I say I’m the CEO of my body and the doctors are my employees and anytime you’re not doing what I think is beneficial for my body, then I have to let you go and find employees who are responsible, accountable and can do the job. After I had my stroke and my heart attack, I fired all my doctors except the neurologist,” the Pink Peppermint Project Founder and CEO shares. “I felt like they had a responsibility to me and they failed me even when I was concerned.”
Her advice for others? Take care of yourself and know the warning signs. “Sometimes we let ourselves fall to the wayside. We make everything our jobs, our family, our husbands, life, traveling–we put all this stuff in the forefront and we don’t take care of ourselves,” the wife and mother shares.
When looking back on her journey, Carter-Williams is fortunate for those who helped her get those long-awaited answers like her husband, who demanded that doctors take her seriously, and the emergency room doctor who referred her to a Black cardiologist, which helped her get long-awaited answers.
“I’m grateful God gave me two weeks to get all those warnings and still be alive but some people get two and three days. They feel symptoms and they lay down and go to sleep and they don’t wake up. I don’t want that to happen to people so I want people to be accountable and make sure they’re eating healthy. Of course, it’s OK to indulge every now and then but if your doctor says don’t indulge, don’t indulge,” Carter says.