In Memory of Randy Pherson's Fight against VEXAS

Randy Pherson passed away on January 11, 2024, after a courageous battle with VEXAS, a rare inflammatory syndrome first identified in 2020. On the day he died, he and his wife Kathy were scheduled to talk about starting the VEXAS Global Foundation with Dr. Marcela Ferrada, who recently moved from the National Institutes of Health to the University of Maryland to work more directly with VEXAS patients, and Dr. Janet Baker, who was Randy's steadfast friend throughout his ordeal. As he declined, Kathy, Jan, and Marce promised to fulfill his vision of a foundation to spread awareness of this little known disease and to provide a community for those impacted by it.

Kathy is now in the process of focusing the non-profit Forum Foundation for Analytic Excellence she and Randy formed to promote analytic thinking on complex issues on the most difficult challenge Randy ever had to face. VEXAS presents a bewildering array of symptoms -- ranging from rashes to swellings to fevers and pain -- that Randy pressed through with dogged determination to live his life as well as he could as long as he could. He managed -- with Jan's essential help -- nearly two dozen doctors and almost as many medications.

No better memorial exists for Randy than to help us fulfill his dream of spreading the word about VEXAS -- how to get tested, how to manage the symptoms, and how to share and learn from the experience of others. We will use these funds to create a website; collaborate with other foundations, entities, and individuals to provide easy-to-understand information about VEXAS; and organize gatherings and other platforms to promote exchange and support for patients and their families.

Help us achieve Randy's vision of increasing VEXAS awareness and education and improving the quality of care and support for those who, like Randy, suffer from this vexing disease.