2025 Promise Walks

Why I Walk

I am walking because I am a Postpartum Preeclampsia survivor.

At 36.5 weeks pregnant with my twin boys, I was told I needed to have an emergency C-section. What was supposed to be a routine Maternal Fetal Medicine appointment turned into one of the scariest moments of my life. My blood pressure had been creeping higher for weeks, but that day, it spiked to a level that made my doctors fear for both my life and my babies’. I was scheduled to be induced the following week, but suddenly that plan went out the window, quickly. They were worried I might have a stroke and wanted to ensure my babies weren't in distress.

After they were delivered, I was immediately placed on a 24-hour magnesium drip to prevent seizures. I couldn’t see my newborns, who were in the NICU. It broke my heart not to hold them right away. We were discharged after two days, but my blood pressure remained high — even on medication. I still did not feel "normal", I had constant headaches, and the concern lingered.

At my first postpartum appointment a week later, my blood pressure was so high my OB didn’t even let me go home. I was immediately sent to the hospital and placed on another magnesium drip. I had just given birth to twins, had a toddler at home, and now I was back in the hospital, scared and overwhelmed.

Thankfully, after a few more days, my blood pressure finally stabilized and I was able to go home and hold all three of my babies. But the experience left a mark. It wasn’t until I went through this that I began to hear about how many other women have faced preeclampsia or postpartum complications. We don’t talk about it enough. But I’ve learned that awareness, and sharing your story, is more powerful than we realize.

That’s why I walk — for myself, for my children, and for every woman who has walked this path or may one day have to. You are not alone. And your story matters.