Hi,

My name is Mark Schmadeke. I have been diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma. I was teaching school and coaching basketball in Northeast Iowa when I started with a pain in my back that then moved to numbness and lack of muscle control in my legs in 8 days since my first symptom. When I went to the ER for the second time, three tumors were found with two on my spine. I had surgery 14 hours after arriving at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. After 30 days in Rochester, I have been going through radiation and chemo. I will have a bone marrow transplant, but currently, this cancer can only be maintained, not cured.

I have been teaching for 16 years and returned to my current job after working 7 years in Waterloo. I am a special education teacher with a focus on student behaviors and reading. Currently, it does not look like I will be able to return to teaching.

I am looking for some support in covering some bills and my deductible as I go into this new phase in my life.