According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) a stroke occurs when something blocks blood supply to part of the brain or when a blood vessel in the brain bursts. The result can be long term brain damage, disability, and even death. The CDC also states that stroke is the fifth leading cause of death and long-term disability in the United States and that African Americans are 50 percent more likely to suffer a stroke compared to their white adult counterparts.

Shanta Quilette Carter-Williams is living proof of that statistic, having survived a heart attack in 2018 and a strok...