I was seven and a half months pregnant with my second child. On my regular visits to my doctor I had complained of headaches and my blood pressure was high. I was put on medication for the high blood pressure.

One night I woke up with terrible pains and called my doctor. He told me to go back to bed, because it was only gas. Six hours later my beautiful daughter was born weighing in at 4 pounds. The epidural did not work; she was born naturally. She had to remain in the hospital due to her weight.

On the day I was to be released, I was swollen all over. I could not get my shoes on and my rings were cutting into my fingers. The hospital staff said this was normal. That very night, I woke up in the middle of the night with one of the most severe headaches I had ever experienced. I took Tylenol and lay back down. In no time at all, I was completely blind. I then proceeded to have seizures.

I was taken back to the hospital and could not explain what was going on with me. They sent me to a better hospital. By this time, I was unconscious. >From there, I was in a coma for 14 days. My kidneys failed and my lungs collapsed. When I finally gained consciousness, I had over 10 different doctors, one being a neurologist, because they did not know whether I had brain damage. I was diagnosed with postpartum eclampsia. Because of my long stay in the hospital, I developed blot clots in my legs which soon traveled to my lungs. I eventually recuperated, but it took months of follow-up visits. I was not able to hold my baby for the first month of her life.

Now I am proud to say she is 18 years old and may be pregnant herself. I just read an article where pre-eclampsia may be passed through the mother's mother. That disturbs me. Although I am a walking miracle, she may not be so lucky. I have only one question. Will history repeat itself? I surely hope not.