Jill Siegel, preeclampsia survivor, foundation volunteer, and Chicagoan is proud to serve as Saving Grace 2009’s Event Chair.

When Jill delivered her daughter in 2004 ten weeks early in an emergency c-section due to preeclampsia, her already elevated blood pressure had continued to rise to the point that her brain was swelling and her organs were shutting down, eliminating any chance that she would recall even the most significant detail of the birth. Fortunately, daughter Brooklyn thrived from the beginning, but Jill was sent down a long path toward recovery that would lead her neurologist to comment nearly nine months later that Jill was "the sickest person to leave this hospital alive."

As a part of her long rehabilitation, Jill became determined to declare herself “recovered” by completing the New York City Marathon. She began training a little more than a year after Brooklyn’s birth, struggling with her long runs. After attending a Preeclampsia Foundation volunteer workshop and learning more about the Foundation, she reenergized her training by focusing on the Marathon as a fund- and awareness-raiser for the Preeclampsia Foundation. This personal challenge and the support and encouragement she received from the Foundation enabled her to stay focused on the fact that what she was doing would help other families avoid a birth experience like hers – or even worse. She successfully completed the Marathon while raising more than $12,000 for the Preeclampsia Foundation.

Jill and her family continue to devote a portion of their lives to helping call attention to preeclampsia and are happy to invite YOU to be a part of this amazing event being held in Chicago for the first time.