Saturday, October 27, 2007
Omni Parker House Hotel
Boston, MA

		Keynote Speaker: Ben P. Sachs, MD
		Event Co-Chairs:  Leslie Weeks  2007 Board Chair
		Jaime Nolan  Grace's Mother
		Guest Speaker: Jill Siegel, Preeclampsia survivor, advocate and New York City Marathon veteran - Jill’s training for the NYC Marathon began unexpectedly. It was November 2004 and she was recovering from a pregnancy gone very awry. More than 10 weeks before her due date, Jill had been admitted to the hospital, exhibiting signs of severe preeclampsia.  Her daughter was delivered by emergency c-section. Jill had no recollection of it; she landed in ICU and would later be told by a neurologist that she was “the sickest person to leave the hospital alive.” Jill was suffering from a variant of preeclampsia called HELLP Syndrome (hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes, low platelet count).  She suffered organ failure, a coma-like state, and a stroke and was on dialysis for several weeks. After 98 days of hospitalization she was released, followed by 3 months of daily rehab. After all those weeks in bed, her body had lost every bit of muscle tone.  She was rebuilding from scratch; so Jill developed her own plan for declaring herself ‘recovered’ . . . she decided to train for and run in the New York marathon.
5:00 - 6:00 pm: VIP Reception (exclusively for VIP ticket holders) 6:00 - 7:00 pm: General Reception and Silent Auction 7:00 - 10:00 pm: Banquet, Program and Live Auction
Tickets start at $250/person Sponsorships start at $5000/table
A message from Leslie Weeks, Event Co-Chairperson Dear Friends: Having a baby is-for most of us-a time of great joy. But every year, an estimated 76,000 mothers and half a million babies around the world die from preeclampsia and other hypertensive disorders of pregnancy. First identified over 2,000 years ago, preeclampsia is the leading known cause of prematurity and one of the leading causes of maternal and infant mortality and morbidity worldwide.  But thanks to the likes of Ben Sachs, MD, our keynote speaker, and other prominent figures in the preeclampsia arena, there is hope. At Harvard, Dr. Sachs helped create the research team that discovered the probable cause of preeclampsia, and there are currently at least four companies racing to deliver predictive tests based on the Harvard research. Several other companies are developing therapies of their own. Until a cure is discovered, however, the Preeclampsia Foundation will continue to play a vital role in working to prevent needless death and disability due to preeclampsia through education, awareness, support and advancing the research agenda. It is the largest patient advocacy organization in the United States dedicated to this maternal health issue, and the Foundation's online forum (www.preeclampsia.org) has emerged as the world’s best source of peer-to-peer education and support. Saving Grace: A Night of Hope was launched in 2005 by Jaime and Joe Nolan as a way to honor their daughter, Grace, who passed away due to complications from preeclampsia when she was just eight days old (read her story). Hosting the inaugural Saving Grace enabled Jaime and her husband to turn their grief over Grace’s death into hope for other families. Jaime graciously agreed to co-chair Saving Grace 2007 with me and I will be forever grateful for her strength and assistance.  Please join us in our efforts to support the important work of the Preeclampsia Foundation, a wonderful nonprofit organization that brings hope, knowledge and support to families everywhere. Together, we can make a difference.   Leslie Weeks

Accomodations

Driving Directions / Parking Information

Online CME Seminar
In conjunction with Saving Grace: A Night of Hope, the Foundation is promoting a three-module online CME course entitled, Heart of a Women: Pregnancy and Beyond. Cardiovascular disease is the number one cause of death in women, and new research findings link preeclampsia with subsequent development of heart disease in women. While Module 1 (Pathophysiology, Prediction and Prevention of Preeclampsia) and Module 2 (Management, Treatment and Case Study of Preeclampsia) focus on the latest research on diagnosis and management of preeclampsia and other hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, Module 3 (Preeclampsia and Heart Disease) discusses the compelling research linking preeclampsia as a risk marker for cardiovascular disease and provides in-depth information about heart disease prevention in preeclampsia survivors. To access the online  CME Seminar, Click Here

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