Dear friends and family,

On October 11th we are participating in the Chicago Marathon! We are definitely not marathoners (Craig’s goal is to run half, Becca’s to run/walk half), but we have great motivation - the charitable foundation that supports Julia’s doctor’s research is an affiliated charity.

As many of you know, Julia was diagnosed last year with a rare autoimmune disease called Juvenile Dermatomyositis (JM). JM affects each child differently, usually affecting the skin and muscles. It can be very serious and debilitating.

Every day we are thankful for how well Julia is doing. If you didn’t know about the JM diagnosis, you wouldn’t know anything was amiss. She’s been taking medications for the past year (oral steroids plus weekly injections) and each month we get to lower the amount. Julia is thriving, active and even growing thanks to the excellent care and treatment she’s received. Unfortunately the same can’t be said for many kids with JM-we are incredibly lucky. We’re hopeful that we are on a path to permanent remission.

Dr. Pachman at Children’s Memorial is Julia’s doctor. She is the leading expert in JM and families travel every 2-3 months from all over the country to attend her clinics and entrust their child to her care. Her research is incredibly important to the progress that has been made in treating JM, and it’s critical that her research continue to be published so other doctors can benefit from her knowledge and she can continue to search for a cure. Cure JM funds helped Dr. Pachman and several other doctors publish the only book specifically about Juvenile Myositis, which is a lifeline to families like us. Because the baseline drug for treatment is oral steroids like Prednisone, which are cheap, big pharmacy does not fund her research. Cure JM directly funds her research and is 100% volunteer run.

We know all of you have many financial commitments and favorite charities. We ask that you support our efforts in any way you can, small or big.

We truly appreciate the support from our friends and family this last year. Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts!

Craig and Becca