Turning Pain Into Purpose: How One Tragedy Became a Mission to Save Lives
From grief to purpose: How one mother's loss became a movement to save lives.
Success is often measured by promotions, awards, or financial achievements. While those milestones have value, I have learned that true success is measured by the lives we impact.
For more than 26 years, I built my career in healthcare, believing that serving others was my calling. Every day, I worked to improve patient care, lead teams, and solve problems. I never imagined that my greatest leadership lesson would come from the deepest pain I would ever experience.
In 2025, I lost my youngest son, Marquavies “Qua” Broughton, to nitazene poisoning. Like so many families, I never expected our lives to be forever changed by a synthetic drug that many people had never even heard of. Grief has no roadmap, but I quickly realized I had a choice: allow tragedy to define my life, or allow it to fuel my purpose.
I chose purpose.
The Marquavies Bernard Broughton Foundation
That decision led to the creation of the Marquavies Bernard Broughton Foundation. Our mission is to educate communities, expand access to naloxone, advocate for stronger public awareness, and help prevent other families from experiencing the unimaginable loss that mine has endured.
What began as one mother’s promise to honor her son’s legacy has grown into a movement. We have partnered with healthcare organizations, law enforcement, schools, government agencies, recovery organizations, and community leaders to provide education, distribute life-saving resources, and encourage conversations that reduce stigma surrounding substance use disorders.
Leadership Is About Showing Up
Throughout this journey, I have learned that leadership is not about having all the answers. Leadership is about showing up—even when your heart is broken. It is about serving others even when you are still healing yourself.
As women, we often underestimate the strength we carry. We believe we must wait until everything is perfect before stepping into leadership. The truth is that our greatest influence often comes from our greatest challenges. Our scars can become our credentials. Our pain can become someone else’s hope.
Faith has been the foundation that has sustained me through every season. It reminds me that purpose can emerge from suffering and that even the darkest moments can produce light for others.
Purpose Over Pain
Today, I continue to lead in healthcare while pursuing a master’s degree in psychology with a concentration in mental health counseling. Every role I serve reinforces the same belief: education saves lives, compassion changes lives, and one person truly can make a difference.
If my journey has taught me anything, it is this: never underestimate the impact of choosing purpose over pain. We may not be able to change what has happened to us, but we can choose what happens because of us.
That is the legacy I hope to leave—not simply that I survived tragedy, but that I transformed it into hope for others.
Because saving even one life makes every step of the journey worthwhile.
