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Merlyna Valentine stood before dozens of influential women at the River Region Chamber of Commerce’s annual Women’s Empowerment event, captivatingly sharing inspiring stories of leadership and perseverance through her life lessons.

Valentine, the keynote speaker for this year’s event, “Clutch Your Confidence,” shared her journey of recovery as a quadruple amputee to inspire women to embrace their inner resilience and overcome life’s unpredictable challenges.

The attendees who were business leaders and professionals, mostly women, showed up in their numbers to attend the event, which was recently hosted at Legacy Venue and Restaurant in Luling.

The day before her third year as principal at St. Rose Elementary in August 2007, Valentine was set for a kidney stone procedure at the hospital. “A kidney stone? That’s all? I’m a principal, and this procedure should not scare me,” she said.

Despite her best efforts, she couldn’t attend school on the first day. She had complications from the surgery, and doctors estimated her chances of survival at 10 percent as her organs began to fail due to severe sepsis.

She was on a ventilator for three weeks and remained in the hospital for three months. Her struggle continued after leaving the hospital, as the doctors said the tissue damage was too extensive, and her limbs could not be saved.

“I spent months in the hospital fighting and clawing my way back, and I had a two-year-long and arduous recovery to reclaim my life and my confidence,” she said to nearly 100 women at the conference. “There’s an inner strength inside of each and every one of us. We just have to make sure we recognize it, embrace it, and use it.”.

Nine months later, the doctors decided to amputate her hands and both legs below the knees. 

Despite losing her limbs, Valentine found the love of her life in her husband, Adam Valentine who supported her every step of the way, also helping with her prosthetics and her hair and makeup.

“Confidence doesn’t mean that we’re never afraid. It does not say that we don’t worry or doubt ourselves. It says that we know those things exist, but we do it anyway,” she said.

Valentine was determined to get back to her job. Two years after losing her arms and legs, she returned to her position as a school principal, where she worked for over ten years before retiring from the St. Charles Parish School System.

She has released a self-published children’s book and an adult version of her story. According to Valentine, all it takes to embrace our uniqueness is maintaining a mindset of possibilities, despite skepticism or self-doubt.

“No longer will I go around trying to prove people wrong who don’t believe in me. I focus now on proving people right who believe in me,” she said.

Shirley Sims, Executive Director of Safe Space of St. Charles, a non-profit domestic violence advocacy and support group, during the conference, thanked the audience for their donations, which play a critical role in supporting the shelter’s daily operations and the needs of its residents.

This year’s event contributors included Dow, Louisiana Federal Credit Union, Shell, Denka, the Port of South Louisiana, First American Bank & Trust, Mosaic, REV/REV Business, Quality Cleaning Equipment & Supply, Cox Business, and LA River Parishes.