I uvJrrYSundoy, April22,2O12 Poge 33

Submitted photo

Schmidtfamily, of Dover, cloclrwisefrom left, Sunny, 18-year-old Brandon, Brad and-13-year-old Valisatie' wears orange to

esent ttltuttiple'sclerosis a*"rene"" and has particip6ied i'n the Walk MS Dover event lor several years after IVlr. Sc.hmidt was

nosed in 2007. The t""r, r.no*n ;the +cs a'ps poh Dawgs, has amassed more than 160 members since its inception.

ver family grateful for MS supportends, co-\Morkersily rally around

employee

Jamie-Leigh BissettState News

DovER - when Tech sgt' Bradretired from the U.S. Air

in 2007, his wife said it was onethe toughest days of his life."I think it broke his hearb to takeuniform off," said Sunny Schmidt,Dover. "IIe even still to this daY

to find ways to <ieploy over toand Iraq) as a civilian

try and help. He is military. It's inblood - it's who he is."

Mr. Schmidt was forced to retirehis career in the mititarY afterdiagnosed with multiPle scle-

a debilitating disease where theimmune syster4 eats awaY at

affects the brain and sPinal cord.Mrs. Schmidt said her husband

can still perform many day-to-dayactivities like work - he is employedat Dover Air Force Base in the aerialport as a civilian - drive and mosthousehotrd chores. But some daYscan be a real struggle.

"My husband looks fine, buthe doesn't feel flne," she said. "Hedoesnt look sick until he gets uP inthe middle of the nlght and can't go

to the bathroom because his legsbuckle."

Mrs. Schmidt said her husband'smedication, Tlrsabri, has done won-ders for his MS, esPeciallY after hisdisease progressed so quickly upondiagnosis.

But every day is a flght for theonce "high-stru4g" man.

"Fatigue is ahuge one forhim, andhis legs hurb a lot too. lle used to beso high-strung. Hers more like a nor-mal person now," Mrs. Schmidt said.

'The man I'm going to marrY'Mr. and Mrs. Schmidt were born

and raised in Illinois and began dat-ing shorbly after high school whenthey worked at a local TGI FridaY'srestaurant together.

Mrs. Schmidt said she remembersthe minute she decided to marry herhusband after he drove more than anhour each day to visit her in the hos-pital after her appendix ruPtured.

"I thought, 'I'm going to marrythat guy,"'shetaid. i

The Schmidts have been marriedfor 15 years and were transferred toDover in June 2003.

Their son, Brandon, is a seniorat Caesar Rodney High School, andtheir daughter, Valisatie, 13, is aneighth-grader at Fred Fifer III Mid-dle Schoolin Camden.. Mrs. Schmidt said it was in 2005,after her husband returned from hisfirst deployrnent to Iraq, that his MS

See Schmidt - Page 34protective layer ofthe nerves and

34 The State Capital Daity Delaware Stz

SehmidtContinued From Page 33symptoms began to come to light.

"When he came back, he had thesereally bad headaches and weirdsSrmptoms, but we just thought itwas him getting reacclimated to be-ing back stateside," she said. ,,Thenit all seemed to be OK and we didn,tthink much about it.

"Fast forward to 2007. He wasagain deployed to Iraq, came back,and his left arm started going numb.It kept progressing over the days, sowe went to the doctors."

Mrs. Schmidt said unlike manyMS patients, who can go through aseries oftests before an official diag-nosis can be made, doctors knew im-mediately that her husband had thedisease.

"He had so many of the syrnptomsthe doctors said there was no way itwas not MS," she said.

Mrs. Schmidt said the disease it-self progressed quickly, but it tookher husband some time to come toterms with it.

"He was in denial. He didn't wantto admit he had MS, so he would doeverybhing like he normally would. Itdidn't work out for him," she said.

Mrs. Schmidt said at first her kidswere frightened that they would losetheir father, but have since learnedto take MS in stride.

"They are so well-balanced thatit doesn't affect them much. Theyknow how to live with it day-to-day,"she said. "And I've never had to askthem for anybhing. They just do it.They are super, awesome kids."

As for her, Mrs. Schmidt said ittook her'some time to get used tothe idea too.

'At first I was like a mother hentryrng to make sure he took hismeds," she said.

"But then he said, 'you,re nag-ging me,' and it put a strain on ourrelationship. We eventually did gothrough counseling through the MSSociety, which helped immensely.

They showed us that we were nor.mal and that this happens. you justhave to take it one day at a time.,,

Once the Schmidts adjusted tothe disease and got their lives .,backon a stable track" they decided it wastime to give back to the MS Society,which had helped them so much a-f-ter diagnosis.

436 APS Port DawgsOn Saturday, the family, along

with a team of more than 140 familymembers, co-workers and friends,parbicipated in the Walk MS Doverand have been doing so for the lastthree years.

"We're really, really luclry to havesuch a great support system," Mrs.Schmidt said about the 436 ApSPort Dawgs.

"We have a large group of greatpeople in our lives who are alwayswanting to be involved in the com-munity."

Mr. and Mrs. Schmidt and theirtwo kids also form a more intimatefamily team each year and parbici-pate in the MS walk in Wilmingtonon Thanksgiving.

Mrs. Schmidt said her goal forSaturday's walk was to raise $8,000,but more than anybhing, she hopedto raise awareness.

"It makes me feel like I,m doingsomething not only for my husband,but for everybody who has MS," shesaid. "This is out there. Anybody canget it. So if we can find a cure for oneperson with MS, we can find a curefor everyone."

As for her own family, Mrs. Schmidtsaid they plan to continue spreadingthe word for as long as possible andlive each day as if there is no tomor-row.

"We're not the type to sit andsay 'boo-hoo' and feel sorry for our-selves. We're going to live each day tothe fuIlest and hope we get anotherone," she said.

Staff writer Jamie-Leigh Bissettcanbe reached at 241-9250 or

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