Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) Billboards Debut in Albuquerque, New Mexico

Albuquerque, New Mexico - Mothers fighting on behalf of their children can be unstoppable. Erin Weisner of Albuquerque, New Mexico is such a mother, and it's because of her hard work that people all over her area are learning about spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) via a series of billboards.

Ms. Weisner's daughter, Desiree, has spinal muscular atrophy, a neuromuscular disease that kills more children under two than any other genetic disorder. To battle the disease, Ms. Weisner founded Desiree's Buddies / Fight SMA Southwest, an Albuquerque-based chapter of Fight SMA. Fight SMA is an international non-profit organization dedicated to accelerating a cure for spinal muscular atrophy.

Six months ago, Ms. Weisner went to her local office of Lamar Outdoor Advertising and asked for a price quote from the company to put up billboards to inform people about the deadly disease. She told the sales manager Desiree's story and invited him to learn about SMA. In the end, Lamar agreed to donate space on 20 billboards. Desiree’s Buddies was only charged the cost of printing the posters applied to the billboards themselves.

"We're thankful to Lamar for everything they're doing to help us," said Ms. Weisner. "Billboards are a great way to get the word out, and I hope people will see them, take the time to visit the Fight SMA website, and get involved."

The billboards feature a simple black background with white block lettering. They inform people viewing them that, "Spinal muscular atrophy kills more babies than any other genetic disease."

To view an image of one of the billboards, go to the Desiree's Buddies/Fight SMA Southwest chapter page. A high-resolution version of the image is available by request.

About Fight SMA
Headquartered in Richmond, VA, Fight SMA (also known as Andrew's Buddies) is an international nonprofit group dedicated to accelerating research for a treatment or a cure for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), a neuromuscular disorder that kills more babies than any other genetic disease. For more information on spinal muscular atrophy and Fight SMA, please visit www.fightsma.org. The latest SMA news and research information is available at the Spinal Muscular Atrophy Blog by Fight SMA.

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