Mom of four credits Beacon midwife, postpartum blood pressure program with saving her life
Even experienced moms need lifesaving support.
As a mother of four, Cassie Rolf knows each pregnancy and delivery are unique. But after giving birth to her daughter Lucie in March 2024, she saw a familiar pattern: While her blood pressure was usually normal, it often spiked dangerously high after delivering a baby.
When her Beacon Health System midwife suggested remote blood pressure monitoring, Cassie didn’t hesitate to become involved. “It’s been a scary problem before,” Cassie explains. “So when they told me about this program, I was immediately interested, especially because this can get worse with each pregnancy.”
Much-needed support postpartum
The first few days after delivering Lucie were a rollercoaster—but Cassie didn’t have to ride it alone. She started blood pressure medication while in the hospital. Just an hour before leaving the hospital, her blood pressure suddenly increased.
So shortly after arriving home, Marissa “Missy” Ryder, a community health registered nurse with the Beacon Community Impact team, visited and dropped off a blood pressure monitoring system.
Cassie began taking her blood pressure readings and messaging with Missy.
Within 24 hours, Cassie’s blood pressure readings began to skyrocket. But as a generally healthy person, she was reluctant to seek more medical attention even though the readings became dangerously elevated.
“When you’re normally very healthy and you find yourself very sick, it’s hard to accept that,” she recalls. “I had already spent so much time away from my kids with the delivery. It was emotionally hard to be away, and I just didn’t want to do it.”
This is where Missy became her lifeline. Cassie recalls Missy saying: “I’m sorry to tell you, but you’re very sick. If you don’t take care of this, you won’t be able to take care of your children.”
Those gentle but firm words broke through Cassie’s resistance.
“I’m an experienced mom,” she says, “and I work at Women’s Care Center. I’m fairly educated, and yet I still didn’t want to go. Having someone tell me I needed to made a world of difference.”
A lifeline to the care she needed
Missy’s intervention was critical. When Cassie returned to the hospital, they discovered her blood pressure was high enough to risk a stroke. Over the next few days, she was readmitted multiple times to stabilize her condition. She kept monitoring her blood pressure twice a day through the program for about three months postpartum.
Today, Cassie reflects on her experience with gratitude.
“The support after this pregnancy made a world of difference compared to my previous ones,” she says. “Once I got the care that I needed, I realized how much better I felt, and how sick I really was.”
With Missy’s support, attentive monitoring and the courage to accept help, Cassie is much healthier today—if still a little sleep deprived from her little one.
“I credit Missy with saving my life because if it was up to me, I wouldn’t have gone in,” Cassie says. “I think that postpartum preeclampsia is a silent killer, and I’m so glad that Beacon is taking care of moms and their families in this way.”
