Welcome!

Thank you for visiting my FMDSA fundraising page!
Donating through this website is simple, fast and totally secure.
The FMDSA is a completely non-profit organization. Unlike a lot of large charities, any money you donate goes directly to helping raise awareness and fund the patient registry/research.

FMD is now believed to be far more common than was previously suspected and findings suggest there is a genetic connection. It may well exist in your family or others you care about and be undiagnosed!

Fibromuscular Dysplasia causes the cells that line the body's arteries to grow at an abnormally fast rate in areas, and cause blockages throughout the body. The type I have, and the most common, is Medial FMD - with this type the cells grow to form what looks like a string of beads. Untreated, FMD can lead to stroke, heart attack, aneurysms, hypertension, kidney disease, etc..  Unfortunately, many doctors are not familiar with FMD and/or how to best treat it (which can lead to serious complications - such as the ones I've experienced). Had I not found the FMDSA.ORG online and taken under the wing(s) of many of their volunteers (including doctors) I believe I wouldn't be here today. Unfortunately, it took TEN YEARS for me to be diagnosed.

It is so important to help fund this organization so that it can go on helping others, including people you care about/your family members or even yourself. I wouldn't be asking you to donate otherwise. Even small donations add up and make a big difference - so any amount is so very greatly appreciated!

Awareness is critical at this point and you can help make a difference by helping the FMDSA to achieve this goal.  It's heartbreaking to hear of anyone, and especially a child having lost their life to this disease - and sadly it has been happening far too often. If not for the FMDSA's efforts to educate doctors, including coroners, we may not even know that FMD was the cause of death in many of these heartbreaking cases.

If you'd like to read more about my own journey with Fibromuscular Dysplasia I'd be happy to share, but am not really comfortable having such personal information readily available online. Just email me from the link below and I'll happily send you a link to where you can access 'my story'. I'm always happy to help spread awareness, so please just ask if you're at all interested!

Please also take some time to browse through the new FMDSA website: fmdsa.org - I'm the web designer/webmaster - so feel free to send feedback about the site to me at: webmaster@fmdsa.org

FYI: Although the FMDSA is based in the U.S., they are the only organization that exists to help patients with Fibromuscular Dysplasia and I was welcomed with open arms when I discovered there was nobody in Canada with expertise about this disease (something we're working to change!) Fortunately for me, through the FMDSA I met wonderful doctors in the U.S., in particular Dr. Jeff Olin at Mount Sinai in NYC who I now see every six months (he sees other patients from as far away as Spain and Australia). I can't express what a comfort it was to finally find someone who was not only a leading expert on this disease, but who was so very willing to help me.

Many thanks for your support -- and don't forget to forward this to anyone who you think might want to donate too!

Rochelle