It’s that time of year in the promise walk community when all the walk coordinators are starting to plan the details of their local Promise Walk. We are all in the midst of details like securing raffle prizes, finding a vendor to donate much needed coffee, wondering how will we get the huge hospital down the street from our walk site to not only acknowledge our walk but to show up, buy a table AND bring a team!!! We watch our individual sites daily, hourly, waiting and watching 4 teams registered, 8 teams register, 48 walkers, 117 walkers, just broke through $10,000.00, one team has over 30 people, seeing all the team captains reasons for walking on their fundraising pages and waiting till walk day so we can see everyone.
We watch it all as it happens. We beg people to register on our walk Facebook pages. We hound our facebook friends to remind them weekly, daily, and sometimes too often how important it is to support maternal and infant health. We shout out the signs and symptoms whenever and where ever we can. We cry for women we don’t even know. We hope and pray for these women that we always hear stories about and our hearts break when a mother loses her baby or a baby is born that will never know the touch and feel of it’s mothers love. I cry all the time. I think of my walkers and worry about them when I know they are pregnant. I dream of a day when we really will find a better way to handle preeclampsia and I know all my fellow walk coordinators and volunteers feel the same.
Need to know why you should care about preeclampsia?
Less than one half of well-educated women are informed of the signs and symptoms of preeclampsia and those who are informed often don’t understand.
No one knows yet what causes preeclampsia, there are no definite ways to prevent it and there is currently no treatment.
No early detection or screening exam is currently available in the U.S. for preeclampsia.
In the United States, the rates of preeclampsia, maternal deaths and premature births are all rising.
How does preeclampsia affect babies?
Preeclampsia is responsible for approximately 20% of the 13 million premature births worldwide.
Having a premature baby because of preeclampsia can also mean a great deal of emotional and financial stress for a family.
Early diagnosis of preeclampsia is key to managing the adverse outcomes due to premature birth
Want to know why your local walk coordinator can’t quit and is so dedicated to finding a cause and a cure? Well I asked my fellow walk coordinators and volunteers to share and here is what they want you to know
And now my Philly walk teammates on why you should sign up for the Philadelphia/South Jersey Promise Walk for Preeclampsia
REGISTER NOW FOR A WALK NEAR YOU!!! www.promisewalk.org
Pattie Mazza says
So that every mother can be a mom and every baby can feel a mothers love