5K Run/Walk for HOPE in Southern California on October 15

Inspired by her 11 month-old daughter, Reagan, Roselle Martinez has been a very busy woman.  Roselle approached Families for HoPE a few months ago with a desire to organize a run/walk to raise awareness of HPE.  Since that time, she has been tireless in her efforts to recruit sponsors, runners, and support for the 5K Run/Walk for HOPE event to be held on October 15 at Biola University in La Mirada, California.  Proceeds from the event will benefit Families for HoPE.

Sponsors include:  Tilden-Coil Constructors, John Lauren Photography, Mitch De Guzman, Healthy Iva, Red 5 Studios, CakeFlix, Kindle Kreative, InHouse Custom Decals; Bodega Sweets, To The Pointe Dance Productions, Families for HoPE

In her own words, here is the story of where Roselle finds her inspiration…

Reagan’s story began before she was even born when the doctors found enlarged ventricles in her brain. From there, it was doctor visit, after doctor visit to monitor her growth.

Reagan came early when my hypertension acted up at a routine prenatal appointment. She was delivered via emergency c-section.  Reagan was born at 36 weeks on October 14, 2010 weighing in at an itty bitty 4.3 pounds. She stayed in the NICU for one week, and during that time, the doctors first prognosis of Reagan was not good. She could be blind and deaf–no words a parent wants to hear for their child–but we didn’t lose hope. They ran tests and found that she had full sight in her right eye and a cataract in her left, which could be corrected with surgery. So after one week in the NICU, Reagan was strong enough to go home to be with her mama, papa, and 2 older sisters!  At 6 weeks old, Reagan returned to the NICU to have the cataract removed! And she was fitted for a contact that she’d wear for the rest of her life.

After being diagnosed with Lobar Holoprosencephaly (HPE) when Reagan was 3 months old, our family immediately took action to ensure she would get the best care needed to help her grow and develop, and now Reagan has various therapies and specialist appointments to help her become stronger and improve her motor skills. But with HPE, comes complications, like seizures, reflux and delayed development, but Reagan is strong and we all have HoPE and love that our little Reagan will thrive!

This is our new norm, and we wouldn’t have it any other way. We are taking it one day at a time and trusting in the Lord.  We want the best for Reagan and will do all we can to see that she gets the best care. HPE is so rare that there are few doctors who have heard about it. We want to make it our mission to help spread HPE awareness everywhere we go which is why we decided to have this 5K Run/Walk for HOPE.