In the winter of 2018, my first pregnancy was going very smoothly when, at 22 weeks, I started feeling a little tired and "out of it".  After checking my blood pressure at the grocery store, purely out of curiosity, I was quickly admitted to the hospital with sudden, severe preeclampsia which became HELLP syndrome in a matter of days.  I went from having a happy, uneventful pregnancy to suddenly facing what no new mother should: the prospect of needing to deliver my tiny baby so that my life might be saved, knowing my daughter's life would be cut far too short.  

Preeclampsia affects 5-8% of all pregnancies and is responsible for 76,000 maternal and 500,000 infant deaths worldwide.  The only cure for this condition, once it starts, is delivery, even if the baby is too small to survive.  

In just the past few years, preeclampsia research has grown in leaps and bounds.  In fact, I'm living proof that preeclampsia can now be prevented, in some cases, and if you come to the Promise Walk, you'll get to meet the "proof": my happy, healthy baby boy who was delivered safely at 37 weeks in November!  This wouldn't have been possible without all the amazing research that's been done so far, but there's still so much to do!  Research funding matters and there is progress in this field, thanks to all of you!!

~Irene Chrismer, Vera and Benji's proud mama