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When Stacy Johnson died from a hemorrhage after the birth of her second son, her husband, Charles, was devastated. Instead of mourning in silence, he shared Stacy's story, which led him to work with Congress and pass a bill granting funds for states to investigate incidents of maternal mortality. His advocacy is only just beginning.When Charles Johnson IV accompanied his wife, Stacy, to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center on April 12, 2016, for the birth of their second child, he never expected to leave there without her. The couple had one son already, Charles V, and Stacy's second pregnancy had been textbook normal. The 39-year-old was in perfect health.

Stacy lived quite an amazing life—she was fluent in five languages, had her pilot's license, raced cars, ran marathons—and was loved beyond measure by her husband. "We had a grand plan of raising kids who would change the world," Johnson says. Stacy's scheduled cesarean section should've been routine; a normal surgical birth for a healthy, uncomplicated pregnancy. But shortly after their son, Langston, was born healthy, it became apparent to Johnson that his wife's recovery was anything but normal.