The Franklin Reporter & Advocate Eight Villages, One Community
Photo: The Preeclampsia Foundation.
Trashaun and JP Powell of Somerset have been named the 2015 Cranford-area Promise Walk for Preeclampsia Mission Family by The Preeclampsia Foundation.
The Powells will lead the 2015 effort to raise funds for the foundation, which was formed to raise awareness about the hypertensive disorders related to pregnancy.
The Powells in 2013 lost a daughter to HELLP Syndrome, a variant of preeclampsia that affects the liver and blood platelets.
Trashaun POwell was 23 weeks pregnant when she was diagnosed with HELLP Syndrome. Powell was taken to a hospital, where she was told her daughter would have to be delivered immediately, according to a press release from the foundation.
The baby, who they named Mia, was delivered weighing 1 pound, 1 ounce. She dies several hours after birth, according to the press release.
Trashaun Powell remained in the hospital intensive care unit for two more weeks and underwent multiple surgeries.
The Powells turned to the Preeclampsia Foundation for information and advice, according to the releases. Trashaun Powell was able to give birth to a healthy baby gir in 2014.
“I was very blessed to have delivered a healthy baby the second time and that I was also okay,” Powell said in the release. “Sharing my story with future mothers through the Promise Walk for Preeclampsia gives us the power of educating ourselves to know the signs and symptoms to look for when faced with Preeclampsia/HELLP. I am thrilled to assist the Preeclampsia Foundation in the hopes of helping another woman not have to face HELLP Syndrome alone.”
Powell and her family will kick off the festivities and share their story at the 2015 Cranford-area New Jersey Promise Walk for Preeclampsia, on May 17 at Oak Ridge Park, Clark. The 5th Annual Cranford, NJ area Promise Walk is organized again this year by mother-daughter walk coordinator team, Stephanie and Marissa Steiner, both preeclampsia survivors. Local sponsors so far include: New Jersey Perinatal Associates, Saint Barnabas Medical Center, Applebee’s, Investors Bank (Springfield branch), Midway Ice & Fuel, Gentle Smile Designs of Jamesburg, and Summit Medical Group. To join the Powell family, register at www.promisewalk.org/cranford.
