New mom’s experience motivates Promise Walk
Preeclampsia Promise Walk held Aug. 23 in Lake City
By LARRY DEVINE
ldevine@iowainformation.com
Kimberlyn Slagle says her son, Cason, was born healthy on March 30, 2024, at Stewart Memorial Community Hospital in Lake City. But that also marked the start of her battle of what she calls an “awful disease” that she fights more than a year later.
“The road back seems far away, but I can feel it getting closer,” she says.
For Slagle, one way for her to strike back against that “awful disease” is to spearhead the first-ever Promise Walk for Preeclampsia in Lake City on Saturday, Aug. 23.
According to the Preeclampsia Foundation website, “Preeclampsia is persistent high blood pressure that develops during pregnancy or the postpartum period and is often associated with high levels of protein in the urine or the new development of decreased blood platelets, trouble with the kidneys or liver, fluid in the lungs, or signs of brain trouble such as seizures and/or visual disturbances.”
The Mayo Clinic website says preeclampsia usually begins after 20 weeks of pregnancy in women whose blood pressure had previously been in the standard range, and left untreated, preeclampsia can lead to serious — even fatal — complications for both the mother and baby.
Slagle shares her own her experience with preeclampsia on her Facebook page.
Starting with labor, her blood pressure reached stroke level, and she was started on IV magnesium sulfate to prevent seizures.
Cason had her son after 26 hours of labor, not being able to leave the hospital bed due to the magnesium. Her initial hospital stay was five days with continuous magnesium drip, strict bed rest and IV and oral blood pressure medications.
“After being released from labor and delivery I suffered the worst headache of my life and had upper right quadrant pain with every breath I took,” she says.
Cameron Slagle, her fiance at the time, now her husband, rushed her to the emergency room at one week postpartum. She was in hypertensive crisis — stroke level again — with blood pressure of 200/120. She was again started on magnesium to prevent seizures.
A chest CT found fluid building around her heart, causing chest pain, cough, rapid heart rate, and heart palpitations. She was rushed by ambulance to an Omaha, Nebraska, hospital to figure out next steps for her. She met with a cardiologist and special care team and was started on two different heart medications to reduce the fluid and try to prevent heart surgery plus two more oral blood pressure medications.
Slagle wrote, “To this day, I am still on blood pressure medications, struggling to figure out why my numbers will not go back to normal. I have permanent scar tissue around my heart and will need to visit my cardiologist yearly for heart exams. This is why I will now advocate for everyone. Preeclampsia is a SILENT killer. If I hadn’t known the symptoms and listened to my body, I would not be here right now. That is why I WALK!”
Kimberlyn, 23, and Cameron, 26, were married May 31. Kimberlyn is a stay-at-home mom, and Cameron is an Iowa State Patrol trooper. Kimberlyn also has an in-home-bakery business, Slagle Sourdough, which offers a menu featuring cinnamon rolls, muffins, bagels, bread, cookies and biscuits. Kimberlyn is using the business to support her fundraising.
Kimberlyn is a Missouri Valley native. She graduated from high school there in 2020 and went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in education with endorsements in special education and pre-K from Buena Vista University in Storm Lake. Cameron, a Woodbine native who moved with his family to Sac City when he was 7, graduated from East Sac County High School in 2017 and earned an associate’s degree in criminal justice from Des Moines Area Community College in Ankeny in 2020. Kimberlyn and Cameron have lived in Lake City since 2021.
Cason weighed 7 lbs, 9 oz at birth and had some health problems initially, but his health has gotten better as he’s gotten older, his mom reports. Doctors are keeping an eye on the size of his right kidney, which was enlarged.
“They believed it would resolve after delivery or by the time he turned 1 year of age, but this has not been the case,” she said. “It is a very minimal size difference, but it’s important to keep an eye on it as he continues to grow. They are unsure whether it is related to my diagnosis of preeclampsia or not. His kidney has never caused him any physical problems, though. He is meeting all of his milestones.”
Kimberlyn describes her son: “Cason is a very loving little boy. He knows who his mom and dad are, and they are his favorite people in the world. He enjoys eating snacks, playing outside and digging in the rocks, sand and dirt, playing with his puppy and kitties, and helping mom and dad with all of the chores around the house.
“Cason never wants to miss out on anything. He believes he is just as big as all the adults around him and tries his best to keep up. He gives the best hugs and kisses and can make anyone smile. Every stranger we bump into always comments on how happy he seems and that his eyes have a certain sparkle about them.”
As for her own health, Kimberlyn said it’s “been a rocky road.”
“At 16 months postpartum, I am still on blood pressure medications to keep my numbers fat normal levels,” she said. “My doctors said I was originally on the highest doses of medications they had ever seen, nearly as high as those with hypertensive resistance. I have been through therapy with (post traumatic stress disorder), panic attacks, depression and anxiety, and I also take a daily anti-anxiety medicine.”
The panic and anxiety were so severe that she was taking her own blood pressure readings dozens of times a day.
“Every new symptom I experience when I was postpartum, I would go down a rabbit hole and spiral into thinking I was drying again,” she said. “I struggled with thinking I had every disease, disorder in the book. It was exhausting.”
About last December she finally began feeling “normal” again, she said. The Slagle Sourdough business, which she began in June, also has been good therapy, she said, making her slow down and be patient, helping take her mind off her anxieties.
“It has been fun trying new creations and watching people enjoy what I make,” she said. “The most important part for me is that it goes toward a good cause, brings awareness, and makes people happy.”
She said of the Promise Walk, “Now I have decided to put that negative energy toward something positive: helping others and advocating for more research and fundraising.”
People can register for the walk online at https://secure.qgiov.com/event/2025promisewalk/classification;294493.
Click the “Register Now” button. Choose whether you would like to walk, run or be a volunteer. Register as an individual, create your own team, or join a team already listed.
There is no sign-up fee. Sponsorships by businesses are being sought. Those interested in becoming a sponsor can contact Kimberlyn at 402-659-4251.
Participants can sign up even the day of the event, beginning at 8:30 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 23, at Lake City’s town square. There will be a program with an informative speech by Kimberlyn at 9 a.m., and the walk will begin at 9:15. There will be free kids’ activities and crafts.
The walk will travel west to Goins Park, north to West Franklin Street, cross the north side of town before returning to Main Street and ending back at town square. Distance will be approximately 5K.
Funds from the walk will go to the Preeclampsia Foundation and primarily will be directed toward research, patient support and education related to preeclampsia and related hypertensive disorders of pregnancy. That includes supporting novel research, developing patient education materials, and providing such resources as blood pressure cuffs to patients.
The Preeclampsia Foundation website notes “alarming maternal morbidity and mortality rates in the United States” and that statistics indicate 60% of preeclampsia-related deaths are preventable.
Kimberlyn is the daughter of Carla and Kevin Christensen of Missouri Valley.
** This story appeared in the Aug. 1, 2025 edition of the Carroll Times-Herald. The HC T-R received full permission from the Carroll Times-Herald / Iowa Information to reprint this story.
