The Promise Walk for Preeclampsia is a cause that's very near and dear to my heart. In 2015, my husband, Tim, and I welcomed our son, Landon, into the world. I was healthy, in my 20s, not overweight, passed all the gestational tests, and had never experienced blood pressure issues. There weren't any risk factors present.
The first and second trimesters were totally fine from a health perspective. The third trimester brought elevated blood pressure, very swollen ankles/feet, and headaches, all of which were "not enough to worry about." A partial bedrest and a day-by-day plan for sudden labor induction later, and Landon was born at 38+5 weeks. He was100% healthy and carried to term.
When Landon was one week old, I was back in the hospital, admitted for postpartum preeclampsia. It took a magnesium drip, lots of blood pressure medications, liver/kidney enzyme level fluctuations, fluid reduction, and 24/7 monitoring for one week to prevent a stroke, HELLP syndrome, or worse. It was not easy on any of us, and not at all the rosy experience you picture when you bring your little bundle of joy home. During that week, when my boys visited me in the hospital, I wasn't allowed (read: safely able) to hold my newborn.
While we had originally planned to have 2-3 children, plans often change when you least expect them to. With sustained hypertension--likely for the rest of my life, managed with daily medication--coupled with an MFM consult dubbing the concept of trying again very high risk, we decided to stop at our perfect one-and-done kiddo.
I, and my little family, are SO grateful to still have each other and come out of those dark days mostly unscathed. That's sadly not the case for hundreds of thousands of women, babies, and families all over the world each year.
Like many other women, I didn't know anything about Preeclampsia going into my pregnancy. And when it came up toward the end, many doctors still believed that delivery was the cure. My son is 10 now and, since he was born, I have personally talked to tons of other moms who also experienced Preeclampsia without prior knowledge of the condition.
That is why I walk! I hope you'll join me, either on my walk team, on a team of your own, through a donation, or by spreading the word. We need all the awareness and advocacy we can get around this very real, very scary, very common issue.
