Golf Tournament Named For Holmdel Woman Who Died Tragically

HOLMDEL, NJ — Wagner College announced this fall they are renaming their college golf tournament in honor of of a young Holmdel woman who died tragically from pregnancy-related conditions in 2012.

Vanessa Picciotto Perrine was born in Staten Island and raised in Holmdel. An avid athlete, Vanessa graduated from Holmdel High, where she was a member of the men's varsity golf team, since there was no women's team. From there, she went on to Wagner, where she competed on the women's golf team for all four years. She was recruited for Wake Forest's golf team, her father said, but she preferred Wagner's art program.

Vanessa received a B.S. degree in Arts Administration in 2003 and she furthered her education in London, studying at Sotheby's Institute of Art. She returned home to Monmouth County, moved to Red Bank and worked as the associate director at the Chetkin Gallery there. With her father Vincent, she later co-founded the Hubbard Park Real Estate and Insurance Agency. She also married Charles Perrine and kept up with her golfing as an active member of the Rumson Country Club.

In 2012, the young couple experienced joy: Vanessa was pregnant with their first child. But late in the pregnancy, in October of that year, Vanessa experienced major, life-threatening complications: She had developed preeclampsia, an extremely serious condition that causes dangerously high blood pressure and affects thousands of pregnant women each year.

"She had a lot of symptoms that we did not what they were. She had high blood pressure and some headaches, but we just thought, 'Ok, that comes along with pregnancy,' said her father, Vincent Picciotto. "She was a tough person."

Her OB/GYN discovered she had high blood pressure, as well as protein in her urine, but told her he would monitor it and sent her home, her father said. Tragically, three days later, on the morning of her baby shower, when she was seven and a half months pregnant, Vanessa awoke with a headache. A blood vessel had ruptured in her brain. She slipped into a coma that day and never awoke.

Her son, Charles P. Perrine, was born, but heartbreakingly, he passed away at the Jersey Shore Neonatal Intensive Care Unit on Oct. 24, 2012. Vanessa was taken off life support on October 28, 2012. She was 31 years old.

The heartbreaking story will forever remain in Holmdel's history. Now, the Picciotto family is committed to raising awareness about preeclampsia, which claims the lives of hundreds of pregnant women across the world each year. In fact, the chief of staff to New Jersey state Sen. Ray Lesniak just revealed last week he lost his wife to preeclampsia after she delivered their twin boys at Trinitas Regional Medical Center. The twin boys survived, but mother died. Similarly to Vanessa, she suffered an extremely painful headache within hours of giving birth, and then a blood vessel in her brain hemorrhaged and she slipped into a coma. The heartbroken father is now suing Trinitas. Related: Union County Hospital Sued After Woman Dies Following Twins' Birth

The Picciotto family has raised $100,000 for an endowed fund at Wagner. Beginning in 2018, the annual Wagner Seahawk Spring Invitational will be renamed the Vanessa Picciotto Perrine Memorial Intercollegiate in honor of Vanessa. The tournament will be the weekend after Easter, April 7-9, 2018 in Gettysburg, PA.

"As with many others, we were not aware of preeclampsia and the seriousness of this condition," said Vanessa's mother, Linda Picciotto. "Vanessa was young, athletic and healthy, until she was struck with this late in her pregnancy."

"Young college-aged women will play in this golf tournament, and they'll go on to get married and have children of their own one day," said Vincent. "If we can teach just one of these young women to be aware of preeclampsia, we've done something."

Preeclampsia usually begins after 20 weeks of pregnancy in women whose blood pressure had previously been normal. Even a slight rise in blood pressure may be a sign of preeclampsia. If an expectant mother is diagnosed with preeclampsia, the only cure is the delivery of baby.

For information on how to support the annual Vanessa Picciotto Perrine Memorial Intercollegiate, please contact Chris Fourman at 718-420-4516, or via email at Christopher.fourman@wagner.edu. All photos provided by Wagner College.