What was your experience with preeclampsia? I developed a life-threatening case of severe preeclampsia in 2002. My daughter was delivered by emergency C-section 2 ½ months early weighing 3 pounds and measuring 14 inches long. In my case, delivery did not relieve my symptoms and I spent time in the ICU with a pulmonary artery catheter in my neck, unable to see or hold my daughter for her first days of life. Even with extremely high blood pressure, incredible headaches and pulmonary edema, my doctors released me on two separate occasions. Each time I had to be re-admitted within hours, with slurred speech, vision problems, and tingling in limbs. In total, I remained in the hospital on magnesium sulfate for about three weeks as the preeclampsia continued postpartum. My daughter came home after 30 days in the NICU.

How aware were you about pre-e before/during your pregnancy? I was not familiar with preeclampsia other than maybe a brief ...

What was your experience with preeclampsia?

In my first pregnancy I wasn't worried about PE at all; everything was going smoothly until 31 weeks when, at our last childbirth class on a tour of the hospital's Labor & Delivery (L&D) ward, I started having painful contractions. We ended up calling my OB from the hospital parking lot and she told us to go back up to L&D where they hooked me up and determined - yes - these were real contractions & I was starting to dilate. Many hours of monitoring and couple shots of terbulaline later they sent me home. I ended up at my 37 week appointment, being sent over to L&D for an induction because of preeclampsia.

How aware were you about preeclampsia before/during your pregnancy?

I'd never really heard of preeclampsia before my first pregnancy. During my pregnancy as I started having high BP sometime around 34 weeks it got mentioned and I knew there were some ...

For Dallas-area volunteer Nicole Purnell, fundraising for the Preeclampsia Foundation is nothing new: she is currently in her fourth year as the Dallas-Ft. Worth Promise Walk Coordinator. So when she and her family decided to do another fundraiser for the Foundation, they decided to try something entirely different, and catered to their home state of Texas: a clay-shooting tournament to be held March 10.  

"Of course, I realize that shooting clays is not an activity for everyone's taste, but this IS Texas after all!" explained Purnell. In organizing the event, she and her stepfather, who is co-hosting the tournament, realized that this would be a unique opportunity to pull in a different crowd than that of the Promise Walks for fundraising and awareness. 

"My stepdad is a retired Navy SEAL and has many friends who enjoy clay shooting," Purnell said. "I had been wanting to do a clay shoot event for some time, and then, one day I got my daily Groupon ...

Perinatal Outreach Educator Networks (POENs) are generally funded by individual states to provide perinatal (the care offered to a mother and child just before and just after birth) medical education to health care providers in the region, enhancing the quality of care for mothers and infants and reducing morbidity and mortality. Specialists share their experience and knowledge with other physicians and community hospitals across regions by offering or facilitating programs such as physician and nurse consultation services, continuing education for health care professionals, emergency medical transport for referring hospitals within the region, consultation and technical assistance on emerging perinatal issues, and sometimes even lending libraries.

For example, in Illinois, there are 10 perinatal centers designated by the state. Rush Hospital in Chicago is home to the the largest network, involving 18 hospitals delivering more than 30,000 infants. The Rush Perinatal ...

1. What was your experience with preeclampsia?
My partner and I had tried for a couple of years to conceive our first child, and finally succeeded in 2009. I felt fabulous during the pregnancy, except that I developed an annoying cough that got more frequent and more productive as the months went on. I mentioned it a hundred times to my doctor, but he always shrugged it off, saying pregnant women often have excess mucus. At 7 months along, I expressed concern to my doctor that I had only gained 12 pounds, but again, he said it was not a problem. Based on my gut instinct that something wasn't right, I insisted on an ultrasound that day, which showed my son was severely growth restricted. He was delivered that night (at 31 weeks) via c-section. He weighed 1 lb 15 oz. We named him Mack. Despite showing all signs of doing great for over a week, Mack developed an infection in the hospital and died when he was 10 days old. I was later diagnosed with postpartum preeclampsia (high ...

Planning and organizing a Promise Walk and 5K Run are no easy task, but the contributions of critical sponsors and donors makes it all worthwhile. For the Chicago event, local sponsors do more than contribute financially, as is evident by these diverse conributions:

One of the local Chicago suburban hospitals, Northwest Community Hospital and a stationery company sales associate, Dee Dee McCoy, contributed financially as Gold Sponsors. Runners High 'n Tri, a popular local running store, provided bibs for Walk and race participants and two days of packet pick-up; DJ Eric Rain of Hanover Park and AMP Entertainment kept the crowd upbeat by spinning tunes and entertaining our many families and kids; CTI Industries of Lake Barrington donated more than 100 colorful, helium balloons; WomanCare OBGYN offices of Palatine, donated giveaways for goodie bags and high-dollar raffle prizes, and the local T-Mobile helped staff the day-of registration booth with a hotspot that enabled ...

Tiffany Trevers, San Jose Promise Walk Coordinator

What was your experience with preeclampsia?

I became pregnant with our first child at age 32 as a healthy person with no chronic conditions, I was considered low-risk. My pregnancy progressed normally through the first trimester. I began to swell around 22 weeks but thought little of it, that it was part of normal weight gain. As each week passed the swelling increased and my blood pressure, which has run low to normal all my life, began to creep up. At 27 weeks I was formally diagnosed with preeclampsia, and I delivered my son weighing just two pounds at 28 weeks gestation. Rather than improving after delivery, my condition worsened post-partum, as I developed Class I HELLP Syndrome and spent several days in ICU with severe liver issues before stabilizing.

My son spent 76 days in the NICU, and as is common with preemies born that early, spent time on the ventilator, had numerous blood transfusions, had ...

On April 14, West Suburban Medical Center (WSMC) in the Chicago suburb of Oak Park, Ill., hosted a unique seminar for nurses eager to learn more about HELLP syndrome. The program's format combined two different patient perspectives with that of Maternal Fetal Medicine expert Dr. Judith Hibbard, a nationally recognized board certified clinician and researcher with expertise in high quality, cutting edge perinatal care. She is a Professor and Director of the Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine at the University of Illinois-Chicago where she is also Co-Director of the University's Perinatal Center. 

Accompanying Hibbard were HELLP survivors Johanna Aiken and Jill Siegel. The personal accounts of the births of their daughters were interspersed with medical information from Dr. Hibbard about what was happening to them at the time.

Aiken gave birth to her daughter Macy in 2003 near term but was diagnosed with HELLP syndrome thanks to the diligence of her admitting nurse ...

We often forget that the faces behind preeclampsia and HELLP syndrome are not just feminine; they are also the faces of fathers and fathers-to-be who are coping with their wife's complicated pregnancy, the loss of a baby, or the loss of their beloved wife.

Fathers come to the Foundation's Community Forum looking for answers to their unique questions: how to deal with post-pregnancy health care, how to be a champion for their wife's best care, or whether they are "overreacting" to their perceptions of inadequate health care. Some of these questions mirror ones that women ask, but for men who are accustomed to being the "problem solvers", it can be even scarier to feel that they have very little to no control over the pregnancy's outcome. This perspective is also shared by several families in If Only We ...

The Volunteer Profile column often spotlights our women volunteers, but during the month of June, we are shifting the focus to an amazing group of men.  These fathers and husbands have seen first-hand the effects of preeclampsia and HELLP syndrome, but instead of becoming passive observers, they have come to the forefront, volunteering their time, energy and skills.

 Board of Directors Chairman Pat Dignan has been a huge supporter of the Preeclampsia Foundation throughout the years, including participating in the 2011 New Jersey Promise Walk and serving as co-chair of this year's Saving Grace gala in New York City.

"I was drawn to the Preeclampsia Foundation back in 2004 for information and understanding, several years after my first wife Donna died from the effects of severe preeclampsia complicated by HELLP Syndrome," Dignan explained. "The need for information, awareness and research about preeclampsia still remains. The Preeclampsia Foundation tries very hard ...

The Preeclampsia Foundation has already made a significant investment into health literacy research in 2009 and 2010, funding and working closely with top researchers and opinion leaders at Northwestern University in Chicago to develop an evidence-based patient education tool that will work with a broad range of patient populations today.  That research study has been concluded and is ready to be tested on a wider audience.  Research has shown that low health literacy is not necessarily correlated to low socio-economic conditions and that across many health conditions, patients may not have the resources to read or understand in-depth materials, and as a result are not adequately informed.

In addition, there are many education opportunities when pregnant women interact with a variety of care providers - childbirth educators, doulas, midwives, nurse-midwives and the traditional physicians and nurses they encounter in clinics, hospitals and medical offices. Each of those ...

Volunteer of the Month Spotlight - May 2011

Heather Curtis, Community Forum Director

What was your experience with preeclampsia?

I had hypertensive complications and delivered at 37 weeks with all three of my children.  I've been very luck that my personal experience with the disease has been mild.  I spent one week on hospital bed rest before being induced with my first; I was induced as soon as I was diagnostic with my second; and I was on "house rest" and labetalol from 35 weeks with my third.  My highest blood pressures were in the 180s/100s, but I was lucky that those readings were only spikes, and for the most part I stayed in the 140s/90s range.  My firstborn spent four days in the NICU because of high MgS04 levels, but my other two babies roomed in with me.  They were all small - 5lbs 8oz; 6lbs, 14oz; and 5lbs, 12oz - but today they are all healthy.

How aware were you about pre-e before/during your pregnancy?

I had zero awareness ...

Upon being diagnosed with any medical condition, it is human nature to ponder, "Did anyone in our family have that?"

This is especially the case when diagnosed with preeclampsia - what our mothers' and grandmothers' generations called "toxemia."

When I was diagnosed with preeclampsia during the 35th week of my first pregnancy, I was mystified and kept thinking: What on Earth is this? I am 27. I run. I eat well. My blood pressure is always a perfect 120/80.

But I have to say before any of these questions surfaced, I looked to my mother and asked, "Mama, did you have that?" She looked at me with tears in her eyes and shook her head no, unable to give me the normal guidance and comfort that mothers so naturally bestow. 

One woman that could provide some guidance was my mother-in-law, Kathy Hutchison, who immediately called me upon hearing my diagnosis, being a two-time survivor herself. What were the odds that she too had had ...

Volunteer of the Month Spotlight - April 2011

Autumn Spear, Promise Walk Beat Editor

 1. What was your experience with preeclampsia?
At 21 weeks into my first pregnancy with our daughter Sydney, I developed severe preeclampsia and HELLP syndrome and had no idea what was happening. I spent a week in the hospital trying to sort out what was happening at such an early stage in my pregnancy when preeclampsia is not typically seen. When my symptoms worsened, I was transferred to a high risk hospital and forced to deliver our stillborn daughter. It was a horrible and frightening experience. With the help of a maternal-fetal medicine specialist, we were able to deliver a healthy baby boy a year later though I still developed preeclampsia again at 36 weeks.
 
2. How ...

(1)   What was your experience with preeclampsia?
I was a young, first time mother with my son who was due June 20, 2008. My pregnancy was rather boring until around 22 weeks. I began having these horrible headaches and saw glitter in the sky. I thought these were regular pregnancy symptoms and thought nothing of it. I figured I could wait for my next doctor’s appointment in 2½ weeks. The headaches got worse and I began swelling in my hands, feet, and face. By 23 weeks, I had already gained 35 lbs. At 24 weeks and 3 days, my mother decided to take my blood pressure. It was through the roof and we immediately called my doctor. She sent me to L&D where I was monitored overnight. The next morning, my doctor said I had hypertension and sent me home on strict bed rest. Three days later, I was worse and went back to the hospital. They told me I may have severe preeclampsia ...

A new Community Forum section called "Writing Heals" encourages survivors to share original poems, songs, short stories  and quotes dedicated to their unique experiences. The goal of the forum is to provide a space to promote healing through shared expression. On a quarterly basis, we will feature a piece in our newsletter along with a brief interview with the author.

Writing has been proven to yield measurable improvements in psychological and physical health. When we write, we must slow down our thought processes and organize our thoughts. This process promotes self-awareness and understanding. As we write about a stressful event or trauma like a preeclamptic pregnancy, it helps us understand the event as well as how and why we may have felt certain emotions, an important part of the grief journey. Survivors have reported feeling relieved and beginning to heal through writing. If you already have a ...

Preeclampsia survivors make a difference every day. For some, that difference is finishing a marathon; for others, it's an opportunity to use special talents to develop a new awareness project.

Our new Southwest Regional Coordinator Nicole Purnell has volunteered for many years to raise awareness and funds as a tribute to her son who did not survive a severe case of preeclampsia. These efforts have grown into a Meet-and-Greet event on February 26 in the Dallas-Forth Worth area, which will offer a point-of-entry for organizing Foundation supporters to brainstorm on future local events. For more information on this gathering, please contact Nicole directly.
 
For the Warner family, it was the loss of their 25 year old daughter Shelly to postpartum HELLP syndrome that inspires their annual work. They are passionate supporters who, along with their extended family and friends, host an annual Taco-and-Trivia Night in Iowa to be held on February 26, with all proceeds ...

Being up at 4 in the morning is no easy feat.  But running 13.1 miles at 4 am?  Anyone who has ever run a half or full marathon will tell you straight away that they are completely insane.

Like many preeclampsia survivors, member Laura Dale's harrowing experience with preeclampsia left her with the desire to make a change, to reaffirm her presence in the universe. Laura and her husband, Will, made the decision to run the annual Walt Disney World half-marathon. During the long process of training, she heard the story of Joan Donnelly, a loving wife and mother of three from Orlando, Fla., who lost her life to post-partum eclampsia late last year. Touched by the overwhelming, devastating sense of loss felt by her family and friends, Laura decided to run in Joan's honor.

Laura finished the half-marathon in 3 hours, 20 minutes and 43 ...

Volunteer Profile- January 2011

Nicole Purnell, Southwest Regional Coordinator

What was your experience with preeclampsia?
My pregnancy seemed rather normal and uneventful to me until I reached 33 weeks.  My blood pressure had been creeping upward, but I wasn't concerned about it.  I had a terrible cold and was taking meds that raised my blood pressure even further and that was when I was put on bedrest.  At 34+5 weeks, I woke up in the middle of the night not feeling right.  My husband took me to L&D just to be safe.  Or so we thought.  Once we got there and were checked in, the nurses started hooking me up to all the monitors.  The monitors were silent and they were not able to find a heartbeat.  When the epidural was place, I crashed.  I remember my OB slapping me on the ...

Volunteer Profile - December 2010

Becky Sloan, National Promise Walk for Preeclampsia Director

What was your experience with preeclampsia?
I began experiencing face and body swelling and headaches at 22 weeks.  These symptoms, along with extreme weight gain, bouts of high blood pressure, and lower fetal movement, continued until 31 weeks.   My doctor was never concerned with my symptoms and told me that ‘if I didn’t stop gaining weight, I would gain 70 lbs. before the pregnancy was over.’   I didn’t make it out of the office before I burst into tears.  I felt awful, like no one cared, and I still had no idea what preeclampsia was because the signs and symptoms were never mentioned to me.  I was never diagnosed with anything more than ‘being a first time worried mom,’ and at 31 weeks, 6 days I went into code blue eclamptic seizures.   I actually had a doctor’s appointment earlier in the ...