Announcer: Coming up, Faces of Inspiration.

I personally consider myself as a miracle.

I was told I was going to have less than six months to live.

They told me I wasn't going to be able to walk, talk, hear.

So, it's a blessing for me to be here in general.

Announcer: The Whitney Reynolds Show is made possible by... Yates Protect: a minority-owned business focused on protecting communities and providing solutions to safety problems for public and private institutions including air purification, metal detectors, thermal detection, and more.

Safety is a right, not a privilege.

And by, O'Connor Law Firm.

When it comes to your injuries, we take it seriously.

Carrie McCormick, a real estate broker with @Properties.

With more than 20 years of experience, she understands the importance of the customer relationship during your real estate journey.

Theraderm, committed to developing skin products designed to restore and promote natural beauty.

Sciton, because results matter.

Additional funding provided by, Mid-West Moving & Storage, Galileo, The Gumdrop by Delos Therapy, Happy to Meat You, Kevin Kelly with Jameson Sotheby's International Realty, Fresh Dental, Ella's Bubbles, Tutu School Chicago, Hi-Five Sports Camp, and these funders: Faces of Inspiration, that's today's topic.

Their eyes have seen a lot, but they still choose to smile.

Today, we're unmasking the stories behind these inspirational people.

[music] Our first guest saw life and death firsthand as a child, but it resonated completely differently when she stepped into her adult life.

This doctor chose to do something about it.

Let's welcome her out.

Welcome to the show.

Thank you.

You grew up in Englewood and you saw violence.

Yes.

What charged you to get out and become a doctor?

Good question.

I always say you cannot be what you cannot see, but there are always exceptions.

So, growing up as a kid, my mentor was the only mentor that I had access to, that was Marcus Welby.

If you're under 40 or 50, you don't know it unless you watch it in syndication, but Marcus Welby was a family medicine doctor.

And I used to watch him on television, and I kept saying to myself, "I can do that."

That was a dream that I held onto until mentors would eventually be able to intersect my pathway and show me a realistic pathway to medicine.

So, you became this doctor and at this point, you kind of felt like this was what you were charged to do in life.

Dr. Lamenta: Yes.

When did you form your non-profit that now is taking kids along and teaching them they can do it?

One day on Mother's Day would change everything for our entire family.

My son was heading back to Purdue and he said, "Ma, I'll drop the kids off on the south side."

And this is where we talk about this tale of the two cities of this beautiful Chicago and the reality that different people live.

Well, my son was going back to drop the kids off to the city that I came from, the two cities-- Right.

--city number 1.

Now I'm living in city number 2 of Chicago, right.

So, he's dropping off the kids on the south side, or heading that way, and realizes that he forgets his wallet.

So, he thought to himself, "I better come back home because I don't want to be driving while Black."

He came back home, he picked up his wallet and in the time it took for him to turn around, my son and his cousins missed the shootout that they would have been probably involved in had they not turned around to get the wallet.

[gasps] I have chill bumps.

I'm sure all of our viewers have chill bumps right now.

Yeah, it was one of those first "ah ha" moments.

And one of the things that resonated with me when you ask me why did I feel like I needed to do that, it's about answering a call.

And I remember how all that weekend I was so busy and one of my little nephews kept calling me, "Auntie Sweetie, can I come over?"

Can I come over?"

And I'm like, I'm studying for Boards, I had too much to do and I didn't answer the call.

Sometimes we're not aware of the calls that are on our life.

That was one of those moments that I realized that I had to be more sensitive to the universe.

That there's things that I have to do.

He ended up being a part of our lives, right?

And six months later to the day though, he actually was in school doing well.

I think that was a transformative moment-- Right.

--in many ways.

But he became the accidental victim of gun violence and he was paralyzed.

[gasps] And I think it was at that time that I began talking to young people, talking to my little cousin and asking them, "Why does this have to be?"

And then you had this "ah ha" moment of, I am my brother's keeper.

We got to look out for each other, and you combined that to create the non-profit.

Tell us about what you're doing.

First, I Am Abel Foundation was initiated with the thought of a call and response to violence, right?

What do we do?

But that's not really where my niche is.

So, I started thinking, "Where can I actually empower other young people "who can ignite a flame "in their fellow brothers and sisters?

I can use medicine."

How many kids are just like me, that are in the community, want to be a doctor, have no idea how to do that?

Don't know which way to go.

How many kids are like me haven't been to a doctor, haven't seen a doctor?

So, with I Am Abel Foundation we thought, let's create legacy by proxy.

We have to start here.

So, there's no true legacy with mom and dad, but how about if I'm a version of your mother.

-Yes.

-I'm your auntie.

How about if I go find some more folks that will stand in with me and they will help you create this experience that you haven't had before?

And then you be that first generation and we'll create that in the community.

And then it just keeps going-- Yes.

--and going.

So, it started with 30 kids and it has now mushroomed to an organization that touches thousands of kids each year.

In our mentoring component, it's called The Urban Bridges Medical Mentoring Physician Pipeline Program.

We usually typically take in over 100 kids from the Chicagoland area who are interested more specifically in becoming a physician.

We have to know our history because if we don't know history, we're bound to repeat it.

When we look at Blacks in medicine period, we make up about 13% of the United States population, but we only make up about 4% of practicing physicians.

So again, when we talk about creating the world that we want to see, it means that we have to actually open up these pathways.

We have been very pleased to have major collaborations with major medical schools like Northwestern, like Rush.

Northwestern is a huge part of our Pipeline Program because it is absolutely impossible to do this.

We were talking earlier off camera about how you need the investment of other entities, academia, corporate America.

Everyone has to play a part.

Because, I can build a pipeline, but I can't open the door.

Whitney: Right.

You're creating faces of inspiration.

Like, you are basically creating more and more faces that are going to change the world.

When you see the faces of these young people and telling me "I got accepted to this medical school" or "that medical school," or they call me and they tell me, "I got a really good score on my MCAT," or they call me and they want to give up, I could tell them about my story and how I almost walked away.

But they all know that giving up is not a part of my vocabulary and it's not a part of the vocabulary of I Am Abel Foundation.

Oh, I love that.

Well, thank you so much for coming on today.

My pleasure.

Now we're going to introduce you to another woman who's on a mission.

You might already know her.

Whitney: Gretchen Carlson knows headlines because she reported them for years.

However, in 2016, she became the story.

Finding the courage to do something like that is not like walking into a room and turning on the light switch.

You know, it's not that easy.

This took years.

It's something that I knew would have ramifications for the rest of my life.

Didn't see the good in it at the time, but I think when my career that I had worked so hard for to get to the national stage as a journalist, when I knew that that was being taken away from me and that it wasn't my choice, and that they were making that choice for me, that was when I finally decided that if I don't do this, who will actually stand up and say what's really happening here?

I'm also a mother of two children and I don't want this to happen to them and I don't want it to happen to anyone else's children.

But I started hearing from so many women in our country.

Immediately after my story, they really buoyed my spirits because they were sharing with me their own stories of pain.

And I realized at that point, oh my goodness, this is a pervasive epidemic and I have to do something about this because I want to honor all these women who nobody ever cared about.

And so that was impetus to write my book Be Fierce and then that morphed into all of the advocacy work that I was doing on The Hill to try and change the laws.

And then eventually that morphed into creating my non-profit, Lift Our Voices, as really an umbrella organization to encompass all of the work that I was doing, whether it was speaking at schools across the country and giving speeches or advocating for change in policies, getting companies to do the right thing.

It's actually powerful to talk about your vulnerabilities because that helps you to connect with people on a more real basis.

And so, there are many mornings that I wake up and I'm like, "Ah, I don't really want to do this today, you know.

"I don't have the passion.

I don't have the energy today."

But then I usually into the eyes of my children and I realize, "Okay, I'm doing all of this for them."

Because the only way we get better at sexual harassment or discrimination on any level is to talk about it.

We're seeing that happen with all the movements that are happening in society right now.

Is that by being more transparent and acknowledging that these things actually exist and talking about it, that's how we solve the problems.

And listen, my greatest life achievement if I pass my legislation on The Hill right now, the work I'm doing with Lift Our Voices, my non-profit that I formed, this work will change the workplace for millions of people and we're the only organization doing this work.

Whitney: Gretchen inspires not only change, but also the inspiration for other victims who felt voiceless to speak their truth.

A friend of mine said to me shortly after I filed my case when I was in deep despair, "You know Gretchen, something good is going to come of this."

And at the time, I didn't see that.

But now, five years later, I see all the good and the progress that we've made on this issue.

And I applaud all of the women and men who have found the same amount of courage to also share their stories and come forward.

So, my legacy is that I'm trying to change the world for them to make the workplace safer.

Whitney: Given six months to live and born with a rare condition, Sacral Agenesis, Abad Viquez faced every obstacle, fighting suicidal thoughts and bullying throughout his school years.

Despite all odds, Abad overcomes and keeps reaching new heights.

Welcome to the show.

Thank you.

Thank you.

I was saying this off camera before we started rolling that you are just such a bright light and you're so young too.

Yes.

Tell us, because in your intro we learned more about your medical condition.

Do you consider yourself a miracle?

Yes.

I presently consider myself as a miracle.

I was told that I was going to have less than six months to live.

They told me I wasn't going to be able to walk, talk, hear.

So, it's a blessing for me to be here in general.

Everything that I've been through personally, it's been challenging for me.

And challenging for me even more just because I have a disability and the way how people see me is like different from, you know, other people.

When you were born and they said you had a less than six months to live, I know you were a baby, so you don't remember that moment.

What did your parents tell you they thought in that moment?

Did they see hope in that?

They just kept praying.

They saw hope in me living, hoping that I would still be here.

For my mom, it was more challenging because at the time my grandpa was already sick.

And then two months later he passed away.

And so, six months later I was here.

I started walking and talking by the age of 3.

[giggling] And so, it took three years for me to walk and talk.

But that's incredible because you were then told "Okay, he's not going to do that either."

Yeah, I know.

My mom, till this day forward, she cries about seeing me walking, talking and just overall everything that I've accomplished in my life, 19 years here.

And she's just always emotional.

So, in elementary school-- Yes.

--you were bullied.

Yes.

Specifically, 5th grade.

I went through my backpack.

I found an envelope with my name on it.

And me thinking it was, "Oh, like somebody finally noticed me in class" or, you know, it was a love letter or something.

So, I opened it.

It was a pair of scissors and a note that said, "Kill yourself."

And so-- In 5th grade?

Yeah, 5th grade.

And so got home and everything.

My mom got home from work.

I showed it to her but it was the first time I told her hey like, "Ma I'm getting bullied in elementary school and everything."

And she just started pushing me, motivating me.

Just saying, "Hey, your disability doesn't define you."

And so, it was at a point where she put me into theater program with actors with disability and non-disability.

Whitney: Go, mom!

Abad: Yeah.

And so, yeah, and now acting is passion for me.

Whitney: Yeah.

You really found your footwork with acting and have really fallen in love with the stage and the stage has fallen in love with you as well.

The bullying also didn't stop in elementary school.

It continued through high school.

Abad: Yeah.

How do you silo some of that?

And have you dealt with having to keep your mental health really strong through all this?

Yeah, I like try to keep myself heathy and everything in terms of mentally and everything.

But going back to 5th grade.

Fifth grade from there, that's when I started getting suicidal thoughts.

I've always tried to think away of me, you know.

Kind of keep pushing myself and everything.

Then high school came where it was a time where like, "Okay, I'm ready for the next step."

And then it was at a point where teachers and staff were, you know, saying stuff about me.

And so, then my sophomore year of high school that's when I told my parents I was going through suicidal thoughts.

And it was a matter of them already dealing with stuff like financially for my medical bills and stuff like that.

So, I didn't want to add that extra pressure into them or that extra like, worriedness for me and everything during work.

Just because they were already going through stuff financially and stuff like that.

You are the story of an overcomer and one that believes and roots for themselves and has a cheer section, a very strong family cheer section that believes in you too.

And you now are inspiring so many people.

Yes.

Let's talk about your clothing line because that's a big deal, a clothing line.

You're wearing it today.

Yeah, I am.

You're an entrepreneur.

I mean, the list goes on.

Abad: Yeah, I started my clothing brand junior year of high school.

It was me after winning the August Wilson Monologue Competition.

And so then during that summer I did like a little internship, a program called After School Matters.

So basically, they put you in like-- we can choose a program and everything.

And so, I specifically chose a program at a college.

And so, they taught me graphic design, film, music.

And so, I knew I wanted to do something in terms of like having my own clothing line.

So, I was like, "You know what?

Let me create a design or something."

So, there was this girl in my class in the internship that she was helping me out and everything.

And she was like, "Oh, so how specifically do you want it?"

So I kind of like did like a little design and we worked on it together.

And now it's been my brand and I've been trying to inspire everyone.

And this brand is mostly to inspire other people to let them know that anything is possible and everything.

And so, I don't keep the money, I actually donate the money to a charity called Free Wheelchair Mission, where they give wheelchairs for free to those who need it or can't afford it.

Like I said, my parents were going through a lot financially specifically my power wheelchair in general.

So, I was like, "You know what?

"I've been blessed to have a power wheelchair."

And I know there's people out there that can't afford it, either it's insurance or just not having money.

So, I was like, let me donate the money.

That is truly amazing.

And so, now you're raising funds to help others be able to get a wheelchair.

Abad: Yes.

And you're still doing your acting.

Abad: Yes.

That is, you said it earlier, and I want to make sure people hear it.

Your mantra in life, what would you say that is?

[deep sigh] Letting other people know that just anything is possible.

Like, I've been through so much and I feel like people like me tend to put disability as an obstacle or a challenge just from hearing all the critiques, all the media and everything.

And it's a thing of like, okay, that was one of the things that I had to overcome myself.

So, I want to challenge myself even more at a point where possibly, hopefully one day I can win an Oscar.

Yeah.

Or win something in life, you know?

Something that's-- I believe you can.

Yeah, thank you.

I heard some strong on that mic check.

Yeah.

You know, that's one thing I like, that anything is possible.

Abad: Yeah, anything is possible.

And you're sharing that message with the world.

Thank you so much for coming on today and reminding us people can do anything they put their mind to.

Yeah, exactly.

I can't wait to see what's next for you.

Thank you.

Next up, a former professional football player whose life's game plan was turned upside down by stage 4 cancer.

However, he's continuing to tackle the issue.

In 2012, I got drafted 53rd overall in the NFL Draft to the Cincinnati Bengals.

My second year in the NFL, my daughter was diagnosed with stage 4 neuroblastoma.

She was burning a high fever and she was very lethargic.

She wasn't eating her food.

So, I ended up taking her to the express emergency room because that was also the day of her first dance recital, but we never made it there.

They ran a couple of tests on her and they ended up finding the tumor in her abdomen.

Then when they came back and told us that it was stage 4 and she had a 50% chance of succumbing to the disease, man, I was a wreck emotionally, mentally, spiritually.

And for the first two weeks, all I could focus on was the 50% chance I had of not watching my daughter grow up.

Not being able to experience those special moments that every parent wants to experience with their kids.

But it was like one day in the hospital, I just decided to change the narrative, to change the story.

Although she had a 50% chance of succumbing, she still had the same amount of chance of beating this disease.

Whitney: Devon had the power of optimism and the determination that helped him on the field.

But this would all be tested when his daughter Leah's health took a turn for the worst.

A couple of days after getting her scans done, we were sat down by doctors and told that Leah had-- the cancer had spread all over her body.

That originally it was just in her abdomen and now it was in her shoulders, her chest, her back, her neck, and it was even in her skull.

And if there was a moment where I ever thought that I was going to lose my daughter, it was during that moment.

But since I've been playing football since I was 13, I've always been taught that you've got to give it everything you have, and you have to fight for four quarters no matter how tired you are, no matter how much pain you're in.

No matter what the scoreboard says.

I decided to put her into another clinical trial that just hit the market when we found out the cancer had spread all over her body.

And again, we had to take her in for scans, and as soon as we pulled up to our house after getting the scans done, I got a phone call from the doctors.

And the first thing she said was like, "This couldn't wait.

We had to hurry up and call you."

My heart dropped to the floor in the car.

I'm like, "No."

But she had told me that all the doctors had met and they were looking at her scans and they didn't see any evidence of disease and that Leah was finally in remission.

And it was just like it was the best feeling in the world.

Whitney: Leah's battle with cancer was finally won.

However, Devon's did not end there.

The journey to recovery inspired him to bring the same optimism and determination to others.

Devon: In 2015, we ended up starting The Still Strong Foundation where we financially assist families who are battling childhood cancer with the household bills such as mortgage, rent, utilities.

And one of the reasons why we decided to start this foundation is because during our stay in the hospital, we walked to the arts and crafts room and when we walked in, there it was like an 8-year-old little girl sitting at a table coloring.

And behind her left shoulder there was a IV pole where a bag of chemo was dripping into her Broviac catheter in her chest.

And me and Leah looked at each other and we both nodded our head to signal that we were going to go sit with the little girl so that she wasn't alone.

And after about 5 minutes of talking to her, we found out that, you know, she oftentimes spent her stays in the hospital by herself because she came from a single parent household and her mom had to leave to go to work so that they still had money, they still had a home, they still had a car in order to make it back and forth to the hospital.

It's bad enough that kids are in the hospital fighting for their life, they're fighting cancer, but to see a child having to go through that by herself it just does something to you when you see something like that.

So, I asked the little girl for her mom's phone number and I called her mom and I offered to pay all of her bills so that she can stay in the hospital with her daughter.

And as I spent more time in the hospital, I noticed that this happened often.

That's when we started the foundation so that we can keep families and parents by their child's bedside.

Whitney: Devon's story serves to inspire anyone going through hardship.

There's always the opportunity for a comeback.

As one of today's guests mentioned, you can't be what you don't see.

And today, you saw firsthand accounts of the faces behind inspiration.

So, there you have it.

Now you can do your part.

Remember, your story matters.

[music] Announcer: The Whitney Reynolds Show is made possible by... Yates Protect: a minority-owned business focused on protecting communities and providing solutions to safety problems for public and private institutions including air purification, metal detectors, thermal detection, and more.

Safety is a right, not a privilege.

And by, O'Connor Law Firm.

When it comes to your injuries, we take it seriously.

Carrie McCormick, a real estate broker with @Properties.

With more than 20 years of experience, she understands the importance of the customer relationship during your real estate journey.

Theraderm, committed to developing skin products designed to restore and promote natural beauty.

Sciton, because results matter.

Additional funding provided by, Mid-West Moving & Storage, Galileo, The Gumdrop by Delos Therapy, Happy to Meat You, Kevin Kelly with Jameson Sotheby's International Realty, Fresh Dental, Ella's Bubbles, Tutu School Chicago, Hi-Five Sports Camp, and these funders: Announcer: Go beyond the interview with Whitney Reynolds and her 52-week guide of inspiration.

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To get your copy for $12.95 plus shipping and handling, go to whitneyreynolds.com/store and use code PBS.

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Kids: Our mommy.