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@picturethisvic

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🎙️✨Hosted by @picturethisvic | Exploring Black women’s health & patienthood with real stories. Brought to you by @weareillmatic. #PatientInYou

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“I got sick of me. I got sick of seeing myself because they would be like, ‘We need an African American patient. Who can we call? Victoria?’ I’m like, stop calling me. Because it should be more.”

That’s our founder Victoria (@picturethisvic) talking at last year’s Wellness Week(end) about why she started We Are ILL, and if that doesn’t tell you everything you need to know about how this organization was built, nothing will.

She talked about sitting in rooms full of pharmaceutical reps and medical directors who were all asking each other what patients need and what patients want, and she’s looking around like, “Where are the patients? Why don’t y’all just ask them?” She talked about volunteering and realizing there weren’t enough patients in the room, not enough African Americans, not enough millennials, not enough girls with braids or tattoos. She said, “I just needed to see more of me.”

So she became the patient advocate who’s out here in these streets. Sitting on panels, going on talk shows, telling her story alongside healthcare professionals, and making sure the patient voice wasn’t just represented but actually heard.

And then she got to the point where she realized it couldn’t just be her story. She didn’t want to be a mascot. She wanted to hear from other Black women living with MS, lupus, and NMOSD, because she doesn’t know all the things and neither does any one person. That’s when We Are ILL was born.

This is the woman behind everything we do. And Wellness Week(end) is the room she built so you’d never have to wonder where the patients are, because you’re surrounded by them.

Wellness Week(end) 2026 is October 30 through November 1 at the JW Marriott Atlanta Buckhead.

Comment TICKET and we’ll send you the link.

#WeAreILLMatic #WellnessWeekend2026 #PatientAdvocacy #BlackWomenWithMS #ChronicIllnessCommunity

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We were on the news today! Our founder Victoria Reese Brathwaite (@picturethisvic) sat down with @AishaHoward on @11Alive to talk about Wellness Week(end) 2026, and if you’ve been wondering what all the excitement is about, this conversation will tell you everything you need to know.

Aisha isn’t just one of Atlanta’s most trusted news anchors, she’s also returning for her second year as our Wellness Week(end) host, and hearing her and Victoria talk about what’s coming October 30th through November 1st at the JW Marriott Atlanta Buckhead will give you chills in the best way.

This year’s theme is Beyond Limits, and that’s exactly what this weekend is built to help you do. Three days of expert-led sessions, real conversations, and a room full of Black women living with MS, lupus, and NMOSD who don’t need you to explain what your day-to-day looks like because they already know.

If you’ve been on the fence about getting your ticket, let this be the sign you’ve been waiting for. General Admission is $200, VIP is $375, and October 16th is the last day to grab yours.

Thank you @AishaHoward for helping us spread the word and for being part of this incredible weekend again. And thank you @11Alive for giving our community this platform, it means more than you know.

Comment TICKET below and we’ll send you the link to get yours before they’re gone.

#WeAreILLMatic #WellnessWeekend2026 #BeyondLimits #11Alive #ChronicIllnessCommunity

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📺 ATLANTA, SET YOUR ALARMS! 📺 
Tomorrow morning, Thursday, October 8, at 8:45 a.m., our Founder & CEO, Victoria Reese Brathwaite (@picturethisvic), joins 11Alive anchor @AishaHoward to talk all things Wellness Week(end) 2026! 🧡💜🎉 
We’re especially excited because Aisha is also our Wellness Week(end) 2026 host, so you’ll get a first look at what’s coming and why this gathering matters for our chronic illness community. 
If you’re in Atlanta or the greater metro area, tune in to 11Alive (WXIA, NBC Channel 11) at 8:45 a.m. Not local? Keep an eye on our page, we’ll share the segment once it’s available. 
Grab your coffee, turn on the TV, and cheer her on with us! 🙌🏾 
👉🏾 Tag a friend in the ATL who needs to see this! 
#WeAreILLmatic #WellnessWeekend2026 #11Alive #ATL #AtlantaEvents

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No cheating on this stage!

ChatGPT can’t help you - it’s just you and the crowd. Not even the cadence of a memorized poem, which has been my cheat code for decades.

This was different - I had to formulate an idea worth spreading, stress test the logic, ensure it’s captivating without losing the validity of my thesis.

What no one knew was I found out that my mother was rushed to the hospital at midnight, which led ro a sleepless night. So my heart wasn’t in the room the way it should’ve been.

Thankfully I’m a consummate professional - kept my head in the game and delivered - word on the street is I did good!😏

Most importantly I flew to Florida right after and was able to bring the medicine of a smile to my mother, whose doing much better now - God is the greatest 🙏🏽

Thanks to my big cuzbro @bxmacho13 for coming through and holding it down per usual - we never take pics because we always holding it down 💪🏽🤦🏽‍♂️

But sincere thanks to ALL the coaches at @tedxbuckheadave & @modexstudio for pouring into me and holding space. Special thanks to @coreancanty for being available at all times to our group.

Big Big Big shout to @unduguspeaks - for being the laboratory that allowed me to work out the kinks and get the feedback that allowed me to deliver BIG

Super grateful - 10k hours looks different than hour 10!

Officially a TEDx Speaker - check my bio or whatever 😊

#knicksin5

📸 @who_edjones

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We go LIVE this Saturday.
12 Speakers.
12 BIG Ideas Worth Sharing.
Can’t Wait!.
#tedx #tedxtalks #tedxbuckheadave #tedxspeaker #tedtalk

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12 Speakers take the stage THIS WEEK! Witness it LIVE.
Tickets in bio.

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This Week 12 Speakers take the stage!.
Witness them LIVE.
See Ticket Link in Bio

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We let a lot of things speak for us. The flyers, the website, the newsletter, the posts. But some invitations need to come from the person who built the thing, so we’re letting Victoria (@picturethisvic) say it herself.

She’s been working on our in-person Wellness Week(end) for five years, and something about this year feels different to her. Not bigger, just settled. Like the event finally matches what she always saw it becoming, and she wants you in the room when it happens.

Watch the video, because there’s a moment where she says “we made this just for you” and she means it in a way that doesn’t land the same way in a caption.

She’s talking about over 365 days of planning, a team that’s been refining every detail to make sure the room feels safe and the sessions feel intentional, and a founder who wanted you to hear the invitation from her voice instead of from a graphic.

She also wants your people there. Your caregiver, your partner, your best friend, your mom, your sister, the person who drives you to your appointments and sits in the waiting room. This isn’t just for women living with MS, lupus, and NMOSD. It’s for the people who love them too.

October 30 through November 1, JW Marriott Buckhead in Atlanta. General admission is $200, VIP is $375. Register at wearewellnessweekend.com or comment TICKET and we’ll send you the link.

#WeAreILLMatic #WellnessWeekend #BlackWomenWithMS #LupusAwareness #ChronicIllnessCommunity

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Excited to share that I’ll be speaking at Wellness Week(end) 2026 – a unique gathering bringing together powerful voices, meaningful conversations, and a vibrant community of Black women living with MS, lupus and NMOSD, and their support squads — spouses, partners, besties, caregivers, family, and friends. Because healing happens in community. And joy? It’s even sweeter when shared. Join me October 30 - November 1 in Atlanta, GA! Link in my bio for tickets!!!!

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“My diagnosis was a gift to me.”

Our founder Victoria Reese Brathwaite (@picturethisvic) sat down with Montel Williams, who will be our keynote speaker for Wellness Week(end) 2026, on his podcast, and he asked her what she’s learned about herself because of MS that she never would’ve known without it. Her answer was everything.

She grieved the idea that life was going to be this straight path of complete upward mobility, all positive, no curves, no fight required. She grieved the version of life where things just came easy. But what she didn’t have to grieve? The person she became because of it.

Her diagnosis led her to a life of servitude, and she means that in the most beautiful way. It gave her a community, an extended family she didn’t know she needed but wouldn’t have without it. It gave her a career, a creative outlet, a place to pour every talent she’d been building for years into something that serves and supports. It gave her stages all over the world. It sat her down across from Montel Williams, and even she said, “That’s insane, but it’s led me here.”

It showed her she’s not just a fighter. She’s a thriver. She’s a survivor. And it’s been really beautiful, actually.

This is the conversation you don’t want to miss. Full episode link in bio.

#WeAreILLMatic #PatientInYou #MontelWilliams #MSCommunity #BlackWomenWithMS

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They calling me TED Talk Tony! lol

As I continue to prepare for my first TEDx speech on September 19th @tedxbuckheadave I’m honing my talk. Trimming it. Trying it on to ensure it feels like me.

Like real me.

In lieu of this being idea driven, it’s also has to be compelling. What’s the practical real world usage? How does the idea operate in real life? That’s been my lane for years. The liaison - the bridge between the streets, academia, community, tech, entertainment, fatherhood and mental health.

So much source material that needed to be narrowed down.

I dug deep and shared two stories that I believe will demonstrate how fragile language is and how much of a tool it can be when shared.

Continue to lock in - a little more than a month left!

I’m not nervous you’re nervous 🙅🏽‍♂️ lol

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We did it guys! We made it to 10k followers!
Vyvanse - you’re that girl! We go together REAL BAD!
Special shout out to @briharris4eva @naturalbornorganizers @laaurenn.runnelss show this to your mom 😂

Thanks to @gotaprilshowers and @picturethisvic

The Rich Aunties, the Best and Worst Dressed Celebs and their stylists and my girl Beyonce for always making me crash out. Thanks for inspiring me to do amazing content.

Thank you God for giving me these ideas and the gift to run with it!

LFGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG

#yourfaverichauntie #auntiechronicles #fyp #beyonce

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