Friday, April 29, 2011

Preeclampsia

What is preeclampsia? That's a strange and long word? Ever heard of it? If you know me personally, then you have. I had preeclampsia when I was pregnant with Ava which is why she was delivered at 32 weeks. With Emma, I was on my way to having preeclampsia, and they delivered her on Ava's birthday (a day shy of 38 weeks).

I write today about what affected my life in a strong way. Most people just heard the word and don't really, really know what it means. They may know the definition, but don't know what it really means to have it or have lost someone because of it.

According to the Preeclampsia Foundation, preeclampsia is "most often characterized by a rapid rise in blood pressure that can lead to seizure, stroke, multiple organ failure and death of the mother and/or baby." 

For me, the tell-tell signs were the headaches I would get which would tell me that my blood pressure was high and if it didn't rest for a certain amount of time, I would have to go to the hospital in case I would be diagnosed with clampsia and my life would be in jeopardy.

Anyways, this post isn't about my story. It's about the story of the Promise Walk for Preeclampsia. The San Jose, California, team is hosting a walk in a week and while I cannot attend (but would like to in the future, I think they deserve all of the advertising they can get.

Click on their link. See the great things they are doing and what donations to the organization will do to help current/future mothers that are pregnant that might be at risk.
Promise Walk for Preeclampsia

1 comment:

  1. Wow thank you so much for your post and for helping us spread awareness! Please note we have walks nationwide occuring during May-June. To find a list of all nationwide walks, please visit:

    http://promisewalk.org/pfpw/findevent_register.asp

    Thank you! Tiffany
    Promise Walk for Preeclampsia San Jose Chair

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