A Message from Our Family
From the Freifeld and Kotecki families:
On July 26, 2014, Mark Freifeld, beloved husband, father, grandfather, and father-in-law passed away from Multiple System Atrophy. He died at home, surrounded by his family. His memory will be a blessing as we continue to help find a cure for MSA.
Read more after the photo…
Mark and Julia proudly holding Mark’s memoirs, available on Amazon.
At this time, there is no cure but there is research taking place at various medical institutions around the world. Our goal as a family is to continue advocating on behalf of Mark and other MSA patients by raising awareness and much needed funds for research.
Mark was a patient at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Our family has an ongoing fundraising effort to raise money for cutting edge research occurring at the Mayo Clinic. The best way to help Mark and others suffering from MSA is to give directly to the Mayo Clinic and designate the funds for MSA research. All it takes is a few quick steps.
Donate by credit card :
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- Click here to donate
- IMPORTANT: On the ‘Designate My Donation To…’ drop down menu, select ‘Other.’ Type in MSA Research.
- Fill out the rest of that page and click Next.
- Under ‘Tribute Information.’ Check the box next to ‘Make this a donation tribute'(optional).
- Select ‘In memory of’ and type in Mark Freifeld under the name fields. Check the box that says ‘Mail a Letter on my Behalf’
- Click Next to complete your payment.
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- Make the check out to Mayo Clinic and specify for: MSA Research Honoring Mark Freifeld
- Send the check to:
Mayo Clinic
Department of Development
200 First Street SW
Rochester, MN 55905
TOTAL AMOUNT RAISED (amount will be updated every couple weeks): $44,614.16
Check back at this site to see the progress we’ve made!
Thank you for your support!
Freifeld/Kotecki Family
Partner with Mark to Defeat MSA 
Donated and shared on Facebook. (Proud to be the first to donate.) Couldn’t send a tribute letter because I didn’t have an address. Please note that I enjoyed working with Mark and I wish the very best to him and the family.
I think what you are doing is great. My husband is a Baptist Preacher and had to resign his church the end of March due to his voice becoming weaker because he too has MSA. We would love to help but he has applied for disability and still has not been approved. We have no income right now and are living by faith. God is good ALL the time and he is taking care of us. I will pray for progress in the research at the Mayo Clinic. p.s. You have a lovely looking family:)
Mark, I’m inspired by your resolve. But then again, I remember the first time we spoke (years ago) when you were looking for candidates for some job or another. You struck me then as surprisingly normal, intelligent, thoughtful, good-humored guy – a rarity in the executive recruiting world. So sorry to read this news. As a cancer survivor (4 years out) I continue to worry about the aftermath of all that chemo and crap. Have had several friends who have recently been visited by some new disease thanks to their prior “treatment.” It’s cruel, but it’s life. I love how you haven’t given up. Gives me hope. Have tweeted your campaign and blasted the trumpet on LinkedIn. There’s no doubt that you will be successful in raising awareness. Mayo is lucky to have you. Best to you and your family. And I will continue to send healing juju your way from Austin. — Ashley
Good luck with your fight. As Ashley says above, I will send healing juju your way as well.
Jeff
Hi Mark. Best of luck to you all. I look forward to reading the story of your journey.
Keep up the fight as I have MSA as well. I am disabled now and quit work over a year ago,because of my voice.
You have a wonderful looking family.
God bless you all,
Roman Frigge
Mark:
Every struggle carries with it seeds of opportunity. Thank you for setting up this website. It allows all of us who love you and your family an opportunity to join forces to find answers.
Caren, Charlie, Rebecca and Jonathan
Mark,
Its been some time since we talked. I was saddened to hear about your MSA battle. I wish you all the best in your clinical trial and your fight. Keep the faith.
I saw that you are writing a book care from the patient perspective. I wonder if you have read “How Doctors Think” by Jerome Groopman or “Overtreated” by Shannon Brownlee. They are two of the best books offering perspective on treatment and the experience of receiving care from the physican and patient perspectives. I read them a few years ago after my wife almost died as a result of complications from poor treatment at Duke. I wish I knew at the time what I later learned about actively managing your own (or loved one’s) care from reading the books.
Glad to make a donation on your behalf.
Bob Miglarese