This fund is established in loving memory of Veronica Hart by her family and friends. Veronica passed away on May 30, 2023.  Her dear friend, Celeste, wrote the tribute below to honor Veronica. It speaks to the wonderful woman she was, the support and service she gave to others, and how her loss will be felt in the mast cell disease community. Thank you for supporting this fund so that Veronica's light can shine through and lend support to others in need.

• Yesterday my friend Veronica Hart passed away. Some of you who read this did not have the chance to know her, which is a shame.  She was the perfect combination of practicality, humor, optimism, concern, and love. Veronica and I met through the mast cell disease (MCD) community; I was new and she had a wealth of practical advice to share. We quickly made connections on many levels - being a mom and wife, having a career, living in Texas, and having a mast cell disease. Conversations held in the wee hours of the night strengthened this bond. We talked about everything - how our children were growing, our hopes and fears, and all things mast cell. Throughout difficult flares and anaphylactic events, the advice and love were constant. At some point we realized that we could coordinate our trips to MDA so that we could meet in person; recognizing each other was easy - we were the ones wearing Vogmasks (this was prepandemic when few people wore masks!) Various family members joined from time to time - her husband, my sister, her parents-  and each interaction was filled with humor, love, and education on how different families deal with MCDs. Although we lived on opposite sides of Houston and were not exactly geographically close, we were able to get together and for our families to know each other. Veronica helped to establish the Houston area support group for MCDs, where she and her husband David shared all they could with our community. Their steadfast love and support knew no bounds. When our families traveled to Disney World for a Mast Cell Disease Society conference, our families bonded more. I had a mast cell attack and had to leave Disney via ambulance. Veronica and David did not hesitate to take care of our girls so that my husband could go with me to the ER and our girls and theirs could enjoy the magic kingdom as a family. So many memories were made on this amazing trip and we reveled in every single one. The years brought many more experiences and much more love. 
  
  
• The two greatest lessons that Veronica taught me were to be present with my family in whatever capacity possible and to use epinephrine (EPI) early and often, but first just to use it. She understood the impact that a MCD has on a family and knew that the time spent together was one of the best ways to lessen those effects.  Veronica had been through many anaphylaxes and knew how difficult it was for people to use epi; for some reason the fear of using epi (or of the subsequent trip to the ER) is almost equal to the fear of an anaphylactic death. There are many in the MCD community who survived anaphylaxis because of Veronica's constant advocacy to “use your epi.“ She did not let an opportunity to advocate pass her by; when we held the "Patient Voice session on Mastocytosis" with the FDA, Veronica and David joined us and spoke of her experiences - from her room at MDA as she had just had a stem cell transplant and was still in isolation.
  
  
• It’s hard to believe that we only shared a brief 9 years but created a lifetime of memories in that time. I am thankful for having known Veronica. You are already missed, dear friend.