Our good friend, Mike Kruger from Granville, Iowa has been diagnosed with an autoimmune disease called scleroderma with dermatomyositis overlap in the past year or so. So far, he has had extensive testing and numerous doctor visits, many of which he and his wife, Cassie have to travel long distances for. Recently, he was hospitalized at Mayo in Rochester, MN due to complications associated with his autoimmune diseases. As of today, he is still inpatient with Cassie by his side.

Scleroderma with dermatomyositis, also known as scleromyositis, is a rare autoimmune condition where a person experiences symptoms of both systemic sclerosis (scleroderma) and dermatomyositis. This overlap syndrome is characterized by skin thickening, progressive muscle weakness, and potentially significant organ involvement, often associated with specific autoantibodies like anti-PM/Scl. Treatment typically involves corticosteroids and immunosuppressive agents, with close monitoring for cardiac involvement being crucial due to increased risks in this overlap syndrome.

There are no known specific treatments for autoimmune diseases, so much of it is trial and error on the part of healthcare teams, providers and how a patient's body may respond to medications, or lack thereof.

Mike and Cassie have 2 daughters, Charlie and Chandler, ages 14 and 10 and 2 sons, Quint and Cort Perino. Mike is fighting like hell and Cassie is his hands-on support. All the kids are cheering him on through these battles, as are the rest of his family and countless friends!!! It is up to us, his village , and extended friends, family and communities to help ease this financial burden all we can, as surely they would do the same for any of us! We want Mike to focus on fighting the conditions and for his family to focus on supporting him in the process!