Help us boost Migraine Australia

Hi, my name is Raphaella Kathryn Crosby and I founded Migraine Australia in 2019. I need your help to take it to the next level, and really start to make a big difference for everyone in Australia who lives with migraine.

I live with really severe hemiplegic migraine - that's the type where it looks like I've had a stroke each attack, instead of getting a headache. My face droops, I find it hard to eat, walk or talk, and generally feel pretty awful until it passes.

In 2018, new drugs became available that changed my life from one being completely debilitated to perfectly fine and functional. I was able to drive again, go back to work, and I no longer required care. There were a lot of us having that same experience, but the drugs were very expensive and not listed on our national pharmaceutical benefits scheme (PBS) which is the only way medications are affordable in Australia.

So I started a petition for the 2019 election to get the first one - Aimovig - listed on the PBS. After the election we had a vote, and our community of people living with migraine voted to set up a permanent patient body to advocate for us, fight for our medications, and provide support for Australians living with migraine. That's how Migraine Australia was born.

We were formally registered as a charity in Australia in May of 2020. I stayed on the board until the end of 2021. We had some great success getting Emgality and Ajovy listed on the PBS, introducing Migraine Awareness Month in June, and securing a $300,000 federal grant to produce migraine awareness materials in my time. We also established the Migraine Warrior Support Network - support groups for people with migraine right across the country.

I still blush a bit when people come up to me or message me on Facebook to thank me for what Migraine Australia has done to change their lives. It wasn't me, it was always a team effort... but it's so amazing to think how a small group of people wanting to be heard can change the lives of others, and change the world.

I left the board in 2021 and the organisation has drifted a little since, largely due to how hard it is to fight to get a medication listed on the PBS... and we've got lots of medications to fight for! Aimovig is still not on the PBS, Nurtec has already been knocked back once... we need to rally and be as loud as we were in 2020 in the fight for Emgality and Ajovy.

I've recently rejoined the board, and we're getting back on track, putting together a great team to take Migraine Australia to the next level. We need a focused effort to push forward, to make Migraine Australia a household name, and help lots more people with Migraine find out about us and join our support groups.

And - with your help - we hope to reach the point where migraine is never dismissed as 'just a headache' ever again, and we don't have to fight this hard for every little thing.

Every big thing starts small. And every dollar you can give will help make a difference for the five million Australians that live with migraine.

We'd really appreciate your help. The money you donate will be put towards:

Our priority will always be looking after and advocating for Australians living with migraine. This is why we are focusing our efforts on our volunteers and support groups, and of course getting the medications and care we need.

So, please give what you can. Even if it's only a dollar or two! Just think, if everyone with migraine gave a dollar, we could do everything on our wish list and actually have the services and support we need to manage migraine in Australia.

If you can't donate, we get it, it's ok - please share this fundraiser with your family and friends and ask them to donate on your behalf.

Thank you.