Dallas Promise Walk 2018
On May 19th, I gave this speech to fellow survivors, walkers, mamas, and papas, at the Preeclampsia Promise Walk in Dallas. My speech: I’m Leila Tualla, a believer, a wife, mama to two feisty kiddos. I’m an anxious writer and a terrible speaker. I was in the fun phase of my second trimester where maternity photo shoots would be scheduled, hospital tours were coming up, and so were the endless supply of baby shower treats. My first child would be born in a sea of pink and polka dots. I was in bliss. And then I one day, I wasn’t. In January 2012, about 26 weeks in, I was diagnosed w Preeclampsia. At 31 weeks, I entered motherhood w a baby that needed to be life lighted to a hospital that had a NICU an hour and a half away. It would be her home for six weeks. Those weeks blurred into each other, and I only remember the highs and lows. There were plenty of highs, including her first bath, our first kangaroo care, meeting the grandparents….. I remem