It must have been fate that first led Rebecca Herbst, (Liz, GH), to the Jesse Cause Foundation, started by Chris and Shelene Keith, whose three-year-old son Jesse had just undergone brain surgery due to a bacterial disease called Group B STrep. Herbst chose the foundation as the recipient of her promised $10,000 following her appearance on Wheel Of Fortune last year.
Little did she know how important her involvement with this cause would be. Without the awareness that she obtained through the foundation, she wouldn't have gotten tested for Group B Strep when she recently became pregnant. She discovered that she has this potential killer of infants, but the prenatal knowledge will allow preventable steps when she delivers next November. "They are looking to save 10,000 newborn babies a year from GBS infections," Herbst says. "There is no question in my mind that the protocol should be changed to universal testing for all pregnant women. Until that happens, however, we must alert women to the risk of GBS, so they can become their own advocates for prevention." |
