Scranton community leader battling brain cancer lives his faith in helping others
A Baptist minister who helped rebuild hurricane-ravaged communities along the
He and his family moved five years ago to
Brain cancer resurfaced early last year and led Schwartz to undergo six weeks of radiation treatment this summer. He will start nine months of chemotherapy Monday.
Through it all, Schwartz maintained unwavering faith that "God is bigger than a brain tumor" and intends for him to continue devoting his to life to helping others.
He also remains devoted to overseeing the
"As a Christian, my faith has to speak into my story," Schwartz said. "I'm sick, I have cancer, but I think God does good things through my cancer. There's a bigger thing going on than just me having cancer. God's doing bigger things for me and I try to focus on that."
Chemistry to ministry
Schwartz grew up in the
While pursuing a chemistry degree at
"That semester I felt a calling to serve others and so my life course changed there," Schwartz said. "I figured it out my second semester of my junior year of college. I was so far into it (the bachelor's degree), I figured I'd just finish it out and go to seminary."
After earning a bachelor's degree in chemistry in 1998, he enrolled at
He then became a pastor of
When Hurricane Katrina devastated the
"It really caught a hold of me," Schwartz said of the mission trips. "We did some great stuff."
Love and marriage
During this missionary work, Schwartz met a young woman from Taylor,
After a hurricane-relief trip in
"So my wife and I said if another natural disaster hits
In 2008, Hurricane Ike slammed
"I quit my job and my wife quit her job," he said. "We filled up the minivan and drove to
They connected with United Methodists, who found housing for them, first in a closet in a church, then in a recreational vehicle for nine months, then in a parsonage.
They did disaster recovery work, helped people get back into their homes and showed other recovery teams around
"I don't speak Spanish and some people didn't speak English, but we made it along," he said.
First sign of trouble
On
He detected an off taste in his mouth and his right leg went numb. He knew something was wrong and pulled over so his wife could drive. A neurological physical therapist, she immediately recognized the symptoms as potentially some sort of neurological problem. She made a U-turn and drove him to a hospital.
A CT scan showed a tumor, about 2 1/2 inches-by-1 1/2 inches on the left side of his brain, between the two lobes.
"It was just a punch in the gut. Our whole road changed right there," Schwartz said, noting he wondered if he needed to make videos of himself "for my kid that I may never see."
In
"I was on chemo and it was like my wife had two kids to take care of," he said. "We made it by. It was difficult, but we made it by."
After the birth of their second child, a son, Nathan, now 6, the family moved to
Their third child, Gabe, is now 3 years old.
Upon moving to
Cancer resurfaces
In
The bad news was not entirely unexpected; Schwartz was told he would have to attack the tumor again at some point.
"With brain cancer, you know the ax is going to fall at some point -- 'Hey, it's come back.' That was
This past January, an oncologist recommended Schwartz undergo proton radiation of the tumor soon. He arranged to have this radiation treatement done at the Hospital of the
In mid-June, he began a six-week regimen of proton radiation treatments at the Hospital of the
On Monday, Schwartz starts nine months of chemotherapy, most of which can be done in
"I'm hoping this round gives me 10 more years of not having to worry about cancer," he said. "One doctor said if they can just keep pushing it back and pushing it back, there's going to be a cure in the next couple of decades ... It's not a fatal prognosis. It's a cancer I can live with. Hopefully, just once a decade I'll have to go through hell and then be good. I have made out OK. I sit in the waiting room and look at people around me who have it much worse than I do, and I feel incredibly blessed in all that I've gone through."
Community
involvement
Meanwhile, the couple is involved in their
Four years ago,
"He built it up," PTA member
"Tim came in and really had a vision that melded with my vision of making this a community school that involves everybody," Emiliani said.
He described Schwartz's commitment to the PTA and school, even in the face of personal adversity, as inspirational.
"Knowing his dedication, with everything he's going through, it helps me become better at what I do," Emiliani said.
Shoes to fill
Last fall, Schwartz became president of the
Schwartz recalled his selection this way: Someone at a meeting said anyone interested in becoming president should step forward, and everyone except him took a step back.
"Nobody really was looking to take on that job,"
Schwartz's leadership style tends to follow the saying, "Give a man a fish, feed him for a day; teach a man to fish, feed him for a lifetime," O'Malley said.
For example, if someone calls the association about a pothole, Schwartz will give a road department phone number and urge the resident to call.
At the end of association meetings, Schwartz gives members some "homework," O'Malley said. When members bemoaned a lack of young people involved, Schwartz sent the members off with a list of questions to ponder and answer.
"People say there are no young people at the meetings, so he's throwing it back at them" to do something about it, O'Malley said. "He is definitely a 'teach a man to fish' type of person."
Schwartz also includes inspirational quotes at the bottom of association meeting agendas, including from
On Wednesday, Schwartz emailed association members to let them know he starts chemotherapy Monday, but he will still be president, though he may be late to the office at times.
"We should all have that ethic. This guy is not a
For better or for worse
Schwartz's ordeal is challenging, especially for his wife, who also has persevered through faith.
"It's not like every day you're strong," she said. "But, I would say that my strength comes from God, and the support of people. We get a lot of support from our community, the people around us."
Schwartz points to his wife as the hero of this story.
"For better or for worse," he said. "You take the vows and you say 'for richer or for poorer,' and we've seen that, and you say, 'in sickness and in health,' and we've been through that as well. I would say I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for her."
On
The Go Fund Me page generated more than double the amount sought, or
Tim has next year's calendar marked for a celebration on
"On
Contact the writer:
[email protected]; 570-348-9100 x5185;
@jlockwoodTT on Twitter
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