RESEARCH IS HOPE

Raising funds for bold migraine research

$14,354 of $200,000 raised

Accelerating the most promising area of neuroscience research

#ResearchIsHope is a campaign that allows you to double your impact to stimulate innovative research in neuroscience. Migraine is a unifying factor in understanding over 30 other chronic diseases. More research is critical to finding effective and tolerable treatments for ALL people living with migraine. You can be a part of this bold effort by donating to the Research Is Hope campaign.

Professional Athletes Show Their Support for #ResearchIsHope

Cory McGee, Team USA Track Athlete

Team USA track athlete Cory McGee had debilitating chronic migraine as a child. Cory found exercise was a tool to keep her attacks at bay. That coping method gave way to an impressive career as a track athlete, which includes representing Team USA at two World Championships. She is a bronze medalist and a two-time silver medalist.

Knowing first-hand just how debilitating migraine can be, Cory is using her platform to raise awareness and funds for research by teaming up with AMD for our #ResearchIsHope campaign to raise money for innovative neuroscience research.

Jon Dorenbos, Former NFL Player & America’s Got Talent Contestant

Playing in NFL football games with a migraine – not fun! Jon Dorenbos and his wife know migraine is no joke as they both have lived with the disease for as long as they can remember. He hopes the disease was not passed down to his daughter. The impact migraine has made on his life inspired Jon to take part in the AMD’s #ResearchIsHope campaign to raise awareness about why more migraine research is needed.

Alexes

“My experience is both interesting and complicated. I live with rare debilitating types of migraine. The presentation of symptoms impacts my daily life. I am a recovering perfectionist, there was an attention to detail and speed in completing tasks that has lapsed. Deceit, exhaustion, uncertainty, isolation, frustration -this is my new lineup. Reading a book or talking, my words are jumbled. I miss the spontaneity I had for myself.

The most devastating blows are the loss of fine motor skills, insufferable pain in my head and body, aphasia and being coherent but not able to express my needs or help others to help me during the migraine attacks. My biggest loss was Alexes, the Alexes from before, the grief process, oh how I wish someone would have prepared me for that. After many hospital stays, I did therapy for months for physical/occupational/speech therapies and my treatment was the same for those that have survived a stroke.”

MELISSA & BECKY DWYER

“Melissa lost her smile and her once bubbly personality and just shut herself away from the world. When you are 22 and doctors are telling you that you have tried everything just learn to live with the pain? She truly wasn’t living at that time. We were back to the hospital stays and ER visits where she was treated like a drug seeker, told she was pathetic and treated so poorly by the medical professionals who were supposed to have empathy. They couldn’t see how hard she was fighting just to stay alive.

This is when she started talking more about suicide. She would say if I was an animal they would put me down, they would never let them suffer like this. I knew if we couldn’t get a doctor to take her case that I would lose her and that is what happened on June 7, 2013. The medical community truly failed her and the isolation from people her age made her lose all hope of ever living a normal, pain-free life.” -Melissa’s mother, Becky Dwyer

DON VANDERPOOL

“As a small child, I had terrible headaches. I recall thinking that if I cut a hole in my head and poured cold water inside, it would help. In high school, I suffered two severe concussions. Whether these experiences played a role or not, I cannot say, but they do represent a beginning. In college, I began to get classic episodic migraines. The migraines continued to increase in frequency until they became chronic. After that, I continued to work for many years. I was lucky to work for an office that valued me and understood my condition as best they could. Then things got even worse. Today, I am in a migraine state at least 25 days each month and experience chronic daily headache as well, so I never have a day without head pain.

Given the length of time I have experienced migraine and the transition from episodic to chronic, I’ve tried most therapies used for migraine and many meant for other conditions. Some showed moderate success, while most were ineffective. All eventually proved unhelpful.”

LINDSAY AND SKYLAR WEITZEL

“I was afraid to have children because I did not know how sick I would become during pregnancy, and because I did not want to pass my illness on to my children. After I had been episodic for five years, I became pregnant with my daughter, two years later I had my son.

My daughter, Skylar, experienced occasional migraines throughout preschool until second grade. She is nine now and they have become less frequent. My son, Kolten, experiences migraine more often and sometimes vomits. Occasionally his migraines are quite severe. Skylar takes care of Kolten and me when we are not feeling well. Our family likes to have movie parties when someone has a migraine. We watch superhero movies to make us feel strong. Skylar makes the popcorn and we all lie in bed together. IronMan makes Kolten feel the strongest. Black Widow is Skylar’s favorite superhero. Mom’s favorite changes all the time. We use positive mental imagery and our family’s love to get us through.”

EULA MOORE-MARSHALL

“I’ve dealt with menstrual headaches as a teenager, but nothing like the pain I started to experience while serving in the military in December 1990 while in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. My head throbbed, I would abruptly stop in the middle of working, walking, or talking and squeeze my eyes and hold my head. I would have daily pain, training became difficult to perform, I couldn’t rest as steady work was required of me. No one understood and no one would listen. I was labeled a complainer, someone who was lazy and faking it. I didn’t know that what I was experiencing were migraines until I returned home. I just called them headaches. After returning home and establishing my daily routine, I was still experiencing pain all day. Lying in bed would make it throb more.”

Our Research Initiative

The Association of Migraine Disorders has a comprehensive research initiative led by its research committee. The committee consists of 20 brilliant, leading researchers and medical professionals who help identify knowledge gaps in migraine to influence future research projects. AMD provides funding for innovative research projects through its grant program. Finally, AMD strives to form an inter-institutional and multi-disciplinary network of migraine researchers and medical professionals through its resource hub and communication platform, the Migraine Science Collaborative.

SHIVANG JOSHI, MD, RPH

“We know a lot more about migraine pathophysiology but I think a lot more has to be studied down the line, especially looking at other different aspects of migraine. For example, migraine with aura or hormones with migraine or migraine with comorbid conditions, there are a lot of other avenues that need to be explored.”

Amynah Pradhan, PhD

“More funding would attract new researchers to the field, because they would see it as an emerging space to grow. Bringing in new ideas and approaches would significantly advance migraine research and ultimately patient care.”

Where Your Gift Will Go

100% of your gift will fund research projects.

Projects in consideration include…

Understanding how hormones affect the nervous system
A patient registry
Identifying when migraine affects dizziness
The role of biomarkers and genetics
and many other potential projects!

AMD has given over $600,000 to migraine research, but there’s more work left to be done.

Spread the Word

Help spread the news about the #ResearchIsHope fundraising campaign by sharing the images below and using the sample text on social media.

Twitter

Join me in supporting @migrainedisordr’s #ResearchIsHope campaign to raise funds for innovative migraine research. Your donation will be DOUBLED up to $100,000 until the end of the year. No donation is too small!

Donate at MigraineDisorders.org/ResearchIsHope

#givingtuesday #100kMatchForMigraine

Facebook & Instagram

As you may know, I have lived with migraine for [blank years]. It has impacted my life in so many ways. I am excited to share that @migrainedisorders is restoring my hope for better days with their #ResearchIsHope campaign to stimulate innovative migraine research.

Donations will be DOUBLED up to $100,000 from now until the end of the year. There is no donation too small!