Support Muggsy's Medical Journey, so the Music will go on

Hi - our names are Kathy and Brian Lauer, and Muggsy Lauer is our brother. We are representing a group of wonderful humans that are raising funds to help with the astronomical medical expenses and lost wages that Muggsy is facing as he goes through the process of triple bypass surgery, and the subsequent weeks of recovery and cardiac therapy.

On the morning of April 24th, Kate Scamp called, much too early on a Wednesday. Her first words were “First of all, Muggsy is OK.” When you hear that, you know the next sentence is not going to be what you want to hear. She proceeded to tell me that they were in the hospital and that Muggsy had just been taken in to receive an angiogram. After a very long day, Muggsy sent the following out to his friends:

“Here’s the story, my friends: This morning I woke up at 6:30 with chest pains and had to go to the ER. After a day of poking, prodding, blood draws, IVs, CAT scans, EKGs, echocardiograms, and an angiogram it turns out that I require triple bypass surgery, which is scheduled for Monday.

I am in good spirits, and I am ready to face the long road of recovery I have ahead.

Some things will need to be dealt with, some gigs will need to be postponed, but I will recover and be back at it.

I will be at St. Cloud Hospital for the next couple of weeks.

Much love to you all. ”

There is no health insurance to kick in on this, and no insurance for his lost income while he cannot work. Muggsy is a sole proprietor of his business, Muggsy’s Beans. While he is out dealing with surgery and recovery, there is nobody else to do his job. He is a musician. He gets paid to be on stage, playing and singing. We are working on looking at creative ways to continue the coffee roasting as quickly as possible, but the music part is something that is entirely lost income.

Many of you know Muggsy personally. Many know him as part of the dynamic duo that is Kate and Muggsy. Most of you know him from entertaining you from stages throughout the Midwest, with his wonderful guitar playing and singing with such groups as Collective Unconscious, Fabulous Armadillos, Monday Night Jazz, The George Mauer Group, Shake a Hamster Band, Monastic Beach, and more. Some of you may remember his weekly morning show on KVSC, Thriving on a Riff. And many, MANY of you wake up every day with the help of his delicious coffee from Muggsy's Beans.

Muggsy is a man who loves fiercely. He is a man with a depth of feeling that is easily touched and burns so brightly. Muggsy is also a strong man with a strong sense of social justice. He is man who will defend you with his entire being. He has an intolerance for the intolerant. And we all love to point out the curmudgeon he morphs into on occasion!

Muggsy is the best partner to Kate. Muggsy is the best little brother to Brian and me. He is the best uncle to Robb, Mike, and Tyler and the best great uncle to Mia, Josh, and Phil. He’s the best brother-in-law to Ted, Cyndi, and Ken. And Muggsy is the best friend to so many others.

Please join us in contributing towards Muggsy’s medical expenses and lost income. Let’s show our brother and best friend how much he means to us in a meaningful way. We want him around for many more years!