The story of Sandy
I am the unfortunate woman who has not one, not two but three rare diseases: fibromuscular dysplasia (FMD), mitochondrial disease and spontaneous arterial dissections. On top of these illnesses, I have Crohn’s disease, autoimmune disease and severe joint pains. I have spontaneously dissected 6 cerebral arteries and 4 coronary arteries with a resultant stroke and 3 resultant heart attacks. It all started when I was 47 years old. My life has been full of multiple radiology studies and angiograms (20 to be exact). Ups and downs, good days/bad days are a way of life for me. My anxiety level, while better controlled, is ever present- does this headache mean I’m dissecting another artery in my brain? Is my chest pain mean I’m dissecting another artery in my heart? Mitochondrial disease has me exhausted all of the time with pain in my joints contributing to my ovetall