When the walk is over....Post your results here!!!

[denise]

I've got a couple photos from the MN walkathon on my website: http://hometown.aol.com/scrapperlang/WalkAThon.htm

We started up this site to send to our family/friends/coworkers to educate and explain what the walkathon/PE/etc was.

Awesome job everyone!!!!!

-------
Denise (29) Co-coordinator for WI
Jason (32)
Ariana (24 months)5/3/03-just shy of 35 weeks: Class 1 HELLP
http://hometown.aol.com/oneyodafan/DeniseHomePage.htm

[carolh]

Hi All -

The Ann Arbor Walk completely surpassed our initial expectations....in every way! Our weather was beautiful (although the wind kicked up for a while and had us all chasing blowing papers.......thank godness the extra juice boxes double as paper weights) and we had a wonderful turnout. I'm still adding everything into the spreadsheet but we had approximately 160 walkers, 50 of which registered on-site! My OB, who is the Chief of Maternal-Fetal Medicine at Univ of Mich came and gave everyone an update on current preeclampsia research and inspired us all to persist in our committment to the cause by spreading the word and continuing participation in events like this. He stayed for the entire event and fielded questions from many, many people (he even helped jump our minivan when the battery died!). We also had another doctor present (who I didn't know was coming) from Univ of Mich School of Nursing. She is the principal investigator in a preeclampsia and exercise study and she was happy to say a few words about their research. During the Walk the bidding was open on our Silent Auction and we announced the winners at the end. We also did a Drawing at the end that everyone was entered into......we had many gift certificates and other 'non-auctionable' items to give away.......people seemed to be thrilled with that!

Once I get all the checks, cash and credit cards plugged into the spreadsheet I'll know for sure........but as of right now it appears we made $1355 on our Auction and collected almost $6000 in registration fees and donations! Our grand total is approx $7300!!!!!

Many thanks to Jennifer Crane and Lynn Petersmarck who helped me in so many ways!!! They worked hard in the planning stages and even harder at the registration table on the day of the Walk!

All of our prayers were answered on Saturday.......the weather, the turn-out, the money, the awareness, and the potential connections and opportunities for the PF through some of the people met. The only thing that wasn't perfect was my health!!! Unfortunately the stomach bug that started with my son during the week also got to my daughter on Friday afternoon and then I was the lucky last recipient on Friday night! I started throwing up at 1:00am and it didn't stop until I left the house at 6:00am to head to the park to set up (nothing left in me by then!). I guess the adrenaline must have kicked in to get me through the Walk but when I got home I got into bed and didn't get out until 10:30am on Sunday!

It's so exciting to hear how well the Walks went everywhere else! Congrats to everyone for all your incredibly hard work! We did it!

Carol

Carol Hamilton, Pharm.D.
Michigan Coordinator
National Group Coordinator
Ann Arbor

[rachel a]

Hello!

Well, our Hope, Arkansas WAT was a bigger hit than I had hoped for. With a city pop. of just 10,000 and just 4 (Yep, that's right) pre-registered walkers, we ended up with 23 in attendance, plus children. I had an additional 22 (non-walking) donations. Still haven't figured totals yet.

I wish I could have recruited more walkers but I'm sure proud of what everyone accomplished!! I know I had a B-L-A-S-T!!

Rachel Adamson
Arkansas Coordinator

Dylan Samuel 10/04/04 @ 32 weeks (due to severe PE)

[wcarder]

Toledo Ohio Walk Report: I have to say we had PHENOMENAL sponosors. We had 300 donuts donated, juice, water, etc. SEVERAL Toledo Mudhens players and their wives came, as well as the team Mascot - Muddy the Mudhen. It was REALLY impressive to see these young guys giving their time to suppport our cause. In total, we had about thirty walkers (+ kids), but we raised about $3000 (Alli has the exact calculations -- I'll have her update later), but most importantly, we raised awareness and that's what it's all about! Course, we had a lot of left overs.... we took DOZENS (and I mean DOZENS) of donuts and water bottles to the Ronald McDonald House and a local homeless shelter. They were incredibly grateful, and it was really great to be able to do that.
I also want to say how wonderful Alli Creek is. What a blessing that she moved here mid planning from Tampa FL! How lucky was I? She worked SO hard, and I COULD NOT have done it without her - Alli, you are my most favorite perfectionist. (; Thanks for not allowing me to drop the ball (unintentionally or otherwise). I feel so fortunate that you ended up here - not only for the sake of our walk, but for my sake as well. I truly cherish our friendship.
Ultimately, this has been a wonderful and rewarding experience. And, this is only the beginning. I'm so excited to hear how successful everyone was with their walk. It feels so good to know that we are taking action. Congrats to everyone!

Wendy
DD~ Kenzie Celeste, 30 weeks GA, severe PE

http://geocites.com/wendycarder/carder_fam.html

[eleni]

The San Diego WAT was more of a token location. I couldn't just let the day go by without doing SOMETHING. So Sandy and I just emailed a few friends (I'm new in SD so my circle hasn't expanded that far yet) and she had contact with some PE survivors. We had 11 walkers, plus 12 children tagging along. We sold a few additional t-shirts and some Promise Stars so total money raised is almost $300. More importantly -- and I'm sure this happened everywhere -- we raised awareness. From one of our walkers:

"It was FUN today! I wanted to pass on that while we were walking back, a mom asked about what PE was (on our t-shirts) and I talked with her and gave her a brochure :) Then I heard her reading it and chatting with her friend about it. They were shocked about a lot of
it :) So the word GOT OUT! :)"

[aimeejane]

This is so great!!

Eleni, I hope you organize another walk next year - officially or not! My sis would love to drive down from Redondo Bch & join you. :) $300 at the last minute - way to GO!!

Aimee
Georgia State Coordinator
Moderator - Pregnant Again

Ds Nicky - 3/24/00 (28 wks - eclampsia)
Ds Kalen - 7/10/03 (36 weeks - preeclampsia)

[danyel]

AWESOME job, ladies! I am so impressed and proud of everyone!

The Portland, OR walk-a-thon was small but packed with enthusiasm, love and amazing support. We had about 30 walkers and in total, I'm looking at an income of about $1,500. I met some incredible women and was over-whelmed by the support my own friends and family contributed. I am definitely on board for next year, and making Portland's event an even bigger success. I took some pictures and am ready to post them.

CONGRATULATIONS and a huge thank you to you all. It's inspiring to see what a group of people can accomplish, along with the emotional support we can all find. You go, girls!

Danyel (30)
DH: Sean
Parents of Jake Kyle born 30 weeks via c-section on 5/25/03 - 2 lbs. 14 oz. - severe PE / HELLP

[melissa71502]

The Florida WAT was successful. We had about 25 walkers and a lot of donations! We raised $1900, with little overhead because of our sponsors. We had autograph signing by a Devil Rays player and some prizes to give away. The weather was beautiful and it was so nice to meet other members and their supporters. We did have one on-site registration from one of our radio annoucements! I am so excited to see the amount of money we raised as a group! Congratulations to all of you for making a difference!



Melissa (29)
dh Mohan (30)
Kalindi 7/25/02, 35 weeks(HELLP)
Madelyn 2/5/04, 38 weeks (PIH borderline pre-e)

[Dawn D]

Hi all,

We had a wonderful event last Sat (the 14th)in Pottsgrove, PA. It was a great morning for a walk! Despite a low turn out of walkers, we raised quite a bit of money. I will share detailed figures and results with Jaime, but looks like we collected $1700 total in sponsorships, donations and walk fees. This is with only 23 people plus some children who actually walked!!

There are so many walks and fundraisers going on in our area this time of year that many people just donated $. But, the impact that we made from our little site is, for me, heartwarming.

Only a few walkers gave just the $15 fee, most gave more - along with additional donations. Every single walker put on their t-shirt to walk and handed out fliers to passing cars.

Additionally, we had 72 tickets donated as give-aways from our minor league baseball team (Reading Phillies),water bottles were donated by Dairy Queen (this store was conveniently the turn around on our walk route), and fruit was donated by the local Redner's Market.

One more note... On Mother's Day, I spoke at two worship services at my church (St. James was our biggest sponsorship). My message was informative, moving, and well received and prompted much conversation following the services. Many women and men approached me to get more info and ask questions and provide support. Interestingly, 2 women over the age of 60 told me of symptoms they experienced during their deliveries several years ago. One was even advised back then not to have any more children because of her severe swelling and affected kidney. She never knew of the term Preeclampsia.

I would have loved to have had more walkers and to have raised more $, but I am so proud and pleased at those who gave what they could. Most importantly, I acheived my personal goal of informing others and increasing awareness about what I (and you) have gone through!

Congrats to all of you as you celebrate your site's success!

Dawn Detweiler
dd born 3-13-02 / @30 wks/ 3 lbs/ emerg c-sec/ severe preE/ worsened following delivery

[Dawn D]

P.S. I also wanted to add that we had an RN manning a minor First Aid table and we offered free BP checks. This was well-received and as a big finale, my BP was taken at the end of the event. I am not happy to report that it was quite high - 140/100 !!! Not sure if this was from all the excitement and running around I did that morning, or from walking, or a point of concern. It did come down slightly a few minutes after this initial reading, but I will be following up with a doctor soon.

Dawn