BUFFALO, N.Y. — We got some great updates Thursday from a local foundation The Alison Rose Foundation, named in memory of a North Buffalo woman who died from a rare condition during childbirth.
The foundation donated $34,000 raised here in the community to the Amniotic Fluid Embolism Foundation. Ali Rose Waclawek died in 2019 from an amniotic fluid embolisms (AFE), a rare and often fatal birth complication.
Her baby, Ada, survived and is thriving today.
That $34,000 donation is for what would have been Ali's 34th birthday on Friday.
“After being able to donate $25,000 to the AFE Foundation in our first year, we are excited to be able to again make a significant contribution this year from the incredible support we receive from Ali’s family, friends, and the Buffalo and Rochester communities,” says Justin Waclawek, co-founder and president of the Alison Rose Foundation.
“Our goal is to one day be able to prevent anyone from having to experience this devastating birth complication. The AFE Foundation and their mission and dedication to advancing AFE research is in lockstep with that goal. Every day, we work to continue Ali’s legacy of giving back to others and this $34,000 for Ali’s 34th birthday will go a long way in this.”
The foundation has also committed $20,000 to Golisano Children's Hospital in Rochester. They will will name a medication room after Ali, who was a pharmacist.
“Rochester was such an important community for Ali, and we are thrilled to be able to support Golisano Children’s Hospital and the great work they do there,” Waclawek said. “With Ali being a pharmacist, naming a medication room in her honor seemed only fitting.”
The Alison Rose Foundation helps with research for AFE and helps mothers and children get the care they need. AFE is a characterized by rapid collapse of mother or baby from an allergic-like reaction from amniotic fluid or fetal debris getting into a mother's circulatory system, which is normally a benign result of birth.