The Microvascular Research Foundation

09/03/2026

If you’re navigating Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS), follow along with Summer as she shares tips and what she’s learning along the way! 🤍

Like many of you, Summer knows firsthand the challenges MCAS can bring. As she continues her own health journey, she hopes to share what’s helping her and encourage others navigating theirs, too!

09/01/2026

Every Specialist Said Nothing Was Wrong. Then One Doctor Said, “Let’s Get You Better.”

Aimee Knight talks about how heartbreaking it is to watch patients keep running into barrier after barrier while they search for someone willing to help.

Then Summer shares why that hits so close to home.

She had been to Johns Hopkins, seen specialist after specialist, gone through the testing, and eventually been sent to psych because no one could explain what was wrong.

Then she met Dr. Jordan Vaughn.

“Okay, well, let’s get you better.”

For Summer, those words gave her something she hadn’t had in a long time: hope.
Watch the full episode here: https://youtu.be/fS2yvgisBeU

Learn more about MVRF at https://mvresearch.org/

08/31/2026

They Said the Treatment Wouldn’t Help. Then His Tests Improved.

Aimee Knight says friends in the medical field warned her that the treatment path her family chose for her dad was too risky and wouldn’t improve his quality of life.

She kept going anyway.

Then his pulmonary function tests began to improve.

For Aimee, having something measurable to point to changed the conversation with people who had been skeptical and gave her family evidence that continuing to search had mattered.

Watch the full episode here: https://youtu.be/fS2yvgisBeU

Learn more about MVRF at https://mvresearch.org/

08/28/2026

Her Dad's Doctors Had No More Options. She Found Another Path.

Aimee Knight watched her dad go from active and independent to needing significant oxygen support.

When the options around him began running out, she kept searching.

That search eventually took her family across state lines for another treatment path, even as others warned that it was too risky and that she needed to accept that this was the end of his life.

Then his pulmonary function tests began showing improvement.
Aimee shares what it took to keep pushing for answers when the people around her weren’t convinced there was anything left to try.

Learn more about the Microvascular Research Foundation and how you can help at https://mvresearch.org/

Watch the full episode here: https://youtu.be/fS2yvgisBeU

08/27/2026

When Doing Nothing Is the Bigger Risk: A Patient’s Plea to Doctors

“Just tell us the risks. Let us decide if we’re willing to assume them.”

Aimee Knight knows what it’s like to watch someone you love run out of conventional options. Her message to providers is simple: listen to the patient, be honest about the risks, and remember that doing nothing carries a risk too.

She also challenges doctors not to lose the human side of medicine or the willingness to keep looking when the usual answers aren’t enough.

Watch the full episode here: https://youtu.be/fS2yvgisBeU

Learn more about MVRF at https://mvresearch.org/

08/26/2026

Doctors Gave Her Dad Two Options: Lung Transplant or Hospice. She Went Looking for a Third.

Aimee Knight watched her once-active father go from exercising and traveling to requiring significant oxygen support as his health rapidly declined.

Eventually, his family was given two options: lung transplant or hospice.

In this episode of The Long Haul with Summer, Aimee shares why she kept searching, how her family crossed state lines to pursue another path, and what happened in the years that followed.

She also opens up about becoming her father’s advocate and caregiver, the meaningful time they gained together, and why she believes his story is ultimately one of hope and perseverance even though it did not end the way they wanted.

Learn more about the Microvascular Research Foundation and how you can help at https://mvresearch.org/

08/25/2026

When Doctors Had No More Answers, This Family Kept Looking

A major teaching hospital told Aimee Knight’s family that her dad’s options had come down to a lung transplant or hospice.

But after watching a once-active, energetic man decline and require increasing oxygen support, Aimee couldn’t accept that there were no more questions to ask.
So her family kept searching, crossed state lines, and found a care team willing to look at his case differently.

In tomorrow’s episode of The Long Haul with Summer, Aimee shares her dad’s story, the fight to find another path forward, and why she still considers their journey one of hope.

The full episode of The Long Haul with Summer is out Wednesday, August 26, at 1 PM CT / 2 PM ET.

08/19/2026

08/18/2026

Why “Normal” Scans Can Miss Vein Compression

A scan can be read as normal even when important signs of vein compression are present.

Dr. Brooke Spencer discusses research comparing CT, ultrasound, and MRI findings with venogram and intravascular ultrasound results. She explains how subtle signs of iliac vein compression can be overlooked and why experience interpreting these scans can make a significant difference.

Learn more about the Microvascular Research Foundation and how you can help at https://mvresearch.org/

Watch the full episode here: https://youtu.be/ToseP2GgmLc

08/17/2026

The Venous Pooling Problem Behind POTS and Long COVID

What happens when blood is not returning efficiently to the heart and brain?

Dr. Brooke Spencer explains how vascular changes, venous pooling, and what she describes as an “empty right heart” phenomenon may contribute to symptoms experienced by some patients with POTS and Long COVID. She also explains why hydration, electrolytes, and compression can help support blood flow back to the heart and brain.

Learn more about the Microvascular Research Foundation and how you can help at https://mvresearch.org/

Watch the full episode here: https://youtu.be/ToseP2GgmLc