Brittany Evans looks healthy.

For three years, though, the 25-year-old has struggled with a rare blood vessel disorder that makes it hard to breathe.

TUCKER McQUEEN/AJC (ENLARGE)

Brittany Evans, shown with her dog, Abby, has a new career, and is raising money to fight her disease.

She couldn't finish a sentence without stopping to catch her breath.

After she was diagnosed with a severe form of pulmonary hypertension, she decided there wasn't enough money being raised to fight the disease.

The Sprayberry High School graduate was determined to start her own fund-raising efforts.

Evans enlisted three bands, Kerusso, Swagger and Bria, a month ago to play at East Cobb Park. The Concert for a Cure brought in $20,000 for research and patient assistance for pulmonary hypertension.

Her efforts got the attention of the Pulmonary Hypertension Assocation.

The group invited Evans to talk about coping with the disease and fund-raising at an international conference in Houston last weekend.

"While 20 grand doesn't sound like a lot in terms of what is raised for cancer or AIDS, it makes a big difference in our chance at survival," Evans said. "Staying involved keeps me sane."

The east Cobb resident was working as a pastry chef when she started having breathing problems at 22. Specialists told her she had anxiety and stress.

After collapsing during a stress test, Evans was diagnosed with the disorder that causes high blood pressure in the arteries that supply the lungs.

Evans lost her job, boyfriend and her apartment. She moved back home with her mother and tried six medications before finding one that helped her breathe better.

She has a desk job that allows her to work and a new career as a plumbing designer.

"Now, I look at what I have and am grateful for each day," Evans said. "My doctor said I shouldn't have survived, but I am too stubborn to die."