Thank you for visiting my 2021 Promise Walk for Preeclampsia fundraising page. Many of you know that almost 6 years ago I was diagnosed with severe preeclampsia and HELLP Syndrome. It was scary, but I fought hard and Gabriel and I were both survivors in the end. All these years later, I am still finding that many don’t know about pregnancy conditions such as preeclampsia and HELLP. Women don’t recognize the symptoms because the information just isn’t prevalent. By joining me in the Promise Walk for Preeclampsia or donating, you are helping to provide research that will enable women to get better information that allows them to be informed advocates for their own body.
I am grateful for any donations and for your help in spreading the word about preeclampsia. My goal is to help our community raise funds and awareness and save the lives of moms and babies!
If you are unable to make a donation, please share my page to help get word out about the Promise Walk. Anything you can do tosupport our efforts to fund education and research into this life-threatening disorder of pregnancy will most appreciated.
In 2015 about a month before my due date, I was feeling upper right quadrant pain. I was exhausted. I was swollen. I knew something was right. I was told by the midwife at my doctor's office "All pregnant women feel this way." and my concerns were dismissed. A couple days later I went to the E.R. where I was given a shot of pain meds and told to go home and my concerns were dismissed yet again. The next morning at 5 am, my pain was still there and I got up to use the bathroom when (thankfully) my water broke. I was right at 37 weeks. I went back to the hospital where things started to worsen and I was put on magnesium to help prevent my bp from rising even higher and causing issues such as stroke or seizures. I was able to pull through and deliver a healthy baby boy. I remained on magnesium for a day or two and was given blood transfusions. We were released from the hospital almost a week later. After continuing bp meds for a couple months, I was able to get myself to a healthy place physically. While I went to therapy where I received a diagnosis of PTSD, it still took me a few years to come to terms with how the arrival of my sweet boy was quite different than how I ever imagined it would be. Six years later I am excited to do the Promise Walk for my third time. Through Team Hope, I want to share there is hope for more research that will help teach women the signs of these pregnancy conditions and that there is hope for future pregnancies.