“I love people, and it just doesn’t seem right that there are people out there that just feel like they don’t have rights or don’t have a way forward. It doesn’t seem fair.”
Brooke Abbott
Brooke Abbott’s life story is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit. Born and raised in Los Angeles, she has roots in a diverse Creole, Cajun and Afro-Latinx family that strong, entrepreneurial women have always led. These women are advocates and community leaders, and it is from them that she learned how to advocate for herself and others.
“I learned how to treat the world as one community,” Brooke says, reflecting on her upbringing.
But her journey took a harrowing turn in 2001, her first week of college, when she fell seriously ill. For seven agonizing years, she battled various symptoms that doctors either ignored or did not properly diagnose. 1
“Why did it take this long?” she questioned when she was finally diagnosed with ulcerative colitis, a form of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), in 2008.
Turning Pain into Purpose
After a life-saving emergency surgery in 2012 with a 30% chance of survival and weighing just 99 pounds, Brooke knew she had to make a change. Had her colon not been removed, she would not have survived. The odds were stacked against her, given her frail condition at the time of the surgery. The procedure itself was a three-step process, each with its own set of challenges and risks. The first step involved the removal of her colon and the insertion of an ostomy. Four months later, she underwent a second surgery to insert an internal pouch, known as a J-pouch. The final step, another 4 months later, was the removal of the ostomy. Despite the overwhelming nature of the surgeries and a long recovery period, Brooke’s resilience shone through. Just six weeks after her final surgery, she managed to throw a third birthday party for her son in the park, before finally allowing herself some much-needed rest.
“I had read somewhere that children have a higher probability of remembering things and people after they turn three, and not before. So I asked my doctor to do whatever he needed to do, to get me to my son’s third birthday in October. This was March. He said he would get me there. After everything we went through, there was no way I couldn’t throw the kid the most epic Pirate party ever!”
During this time, Brooke recalls her mom imploring her to change her life. And change it she did. She started by transforming her blog, BrooklynBites, originally a platform for discussing motherhood and politics, into The Crazy Creole Mommy Chronicles, a beacon for IBD awareness.
“I wanted to normalize this condition. People with chronic disease have full lives,” Brooke emphasizes.
Her advocacy didn’t stop at blogging; she took her message to Capitol Hill, taught online classes on public policy, sat on advisory boards for pharmaceutical companies promoting health equity, and became a babywearing educator to encourage mothers and fathers with chronic conditions and disabilities to babywear. Most importantly, she founded her nonprofit, IBDMoms.org.
A Voice for the Voiceless
Brooke’s work aims to bridge the glaring gap in healthcare equity.
“It took me seven years to get diagnosed,” she reiterates, emphasizing the need for more awareness and quicker diagnoses, especially among communities of color.
Her nonprofit serves as a communal space where moms of all backgrounds can share resources and experiences.
“Moms who are not of color reach out to moms of color to form an incredible community of support. I think we are getting closer to filling that gap,” she says.
Academic Pursuits and Future Aspirations
Brooke returned to school in 2019 at East Los Angeles College (ELAC) and enrolled in the Pathway to Law School program. She describes ELAC as a night-and-day difference in support compared to her previous college experience.
“Do not give up. There is a person with a solution, and there is a problem with a solution,” she advises current ELAC students.
Brooke is pursuing degrees in the history of public policy and political science, and has aspirations to continue in the area of health equity.
“I’m really interested in continuing to lobby for health equity, either working within Congress, at the state or local level, or for a lobbying firm,” she shares.
A Legacy of Empowerment
Inspired by the strong women in her life, particularly her great aunt Roberta Paul, Brooke is a living example of the power of resilience and community.
“My great aunt had a 6th-grade education and worked as a domestic houseworker to ensure my great-grandmother could get her own education,” she says, adding that her great aunt’s sacrifices have had a ripple effect through generations.
Through hard work and an unrelenting devotion to her loved ones, Aunt Roberta would go on to support the grandchildren and great-grandchildren of her youngest sister financially, whether they pursued higher education or went into business. And while she lived in a segregated neighborhood for a long time, being one of the first Black women to move into that Los Angeles neighborhood she never let that define her or her family.
In Closing
Brooke Abbott is not just a survivor, but a beacon of hope and a catalyst for change.
“I love people, and it just doesn’t seem right that there are people out there that just feel like they don’t have rights or don’t have a way forward. It doesn’t seem fair,” she passionately states.
Her story is a vivid reminder that one person can make a significant impact even in the face of insurmountable odds.
Through her advocacy, educational efforts, and the community she’s building with IBDMoms.org, Brooke is a SparQ that lights up the world.
If you would like to support the work of Brooke and her team at IBDMoms, please consider donating directly.
Footnotes
General Health Disparities: Black women in the U.S. face excess mortality compared to other women, with shorter life expectancies and higher rates of maternal mortality. They also bear a disproportionate burden of chronic conditions like anemia, cardiovascular disease, and obesity.
Pregnancy-Related Mortality: Black and AIAN (American Indian and Alaska Native) women have the highest rates of pregnancy-related mortality. Additionally, food insecurity is over twice as likely to affect Black (13%) and Hispanic (11%) children compared to White children (4%).
Discriminatory Practices: Discrimination within the U.S. healthcare system contributes to healthcare inequities. A 2017 study highlighted that these inequities span socioeconomic statuses for Black women, who face the added challenge of combating normalized stereotypes.
Breast Cancer Disparities: Black women have a 42% higher death rate from breast cancer than White women, with an increased risk for more aggressive types of the disease. The study noted a disadvantage in prevention and treatment of breast cancer for Black women.
Author: John Umekubo