I never imagined that pregnancy would become a fight for my life — not once, but twice.

I am a 2x survivor of preeclampsia and HELLP syndrome. What should have been joyful, glowing months of anticipation quickly turned into emergency monitoring, terrifying blood pressure numbers, and conversations no mother should have to hear. Preeclampsia doesn’t just cause swelling or headaches — it can attack your organs, your blood, your liver, and your life. HELLP syndrome, a severe variant, escalates even faster. And when it happens, everything moves quickly.

I know what it feels like to have doctors rush in. I know what it feels like to sign emergency consent forms. I know what it feels like to wonder if you’ll make it home to raise your baby. But I also know what survival looks like.

I walk in the 2026 DC Promise Walk because awareness saves lives. I walk because too many women — especially Black women — are dismissed when they say something feels wrong. I walk because maternal health disparities are real, and silence costs lives. I walk because preeclampsia doesn’t end at delivery — survivors face long-term cardiovascular risks that deserve research, funding, and follow-up care. Most of all, I walk for the mothers who didn’t get to.

The DC Promise Walk isn’t just an event — it’s a movement. It’s education. It’s remembrance. It’s community. It’s advocacy. It’s ensuring that no woman has to Google her symptoms in fear at 2am without support.