Michael and Elizabeth Schwartz Medical Emergency

My name is Bernadette, and have started this donation to help my sister and brother n law- Michael and Elizabeth Schwartz. They are in desperate need of help with medical expenses, and because that, they are about to lose everything that they have worked so hard for.

Michael and Elizabeth Schwartz are some of the most kindhearted people that I know and when their world was flipped after Michael has a severe (flesh eating) bacterial infection in his foot that led to two years (beginning in 2021), worth of treatments, many procedures and 4 surgeries which lead to him then having half of his foot amputated, and due to the many procedures, appointments, and treatments that Michael is still to this day going through it has drained them financially, so bad that they are facing the very real fact of losing their home.

Mike is a person that for as long as I have known him has always had a foot in the community and in doing so has impacted many lives, from students that he has taught and guided as an instructor at Madison Oneida B.O.C.E.S with the Criminal Justice Program,

to saving lives as a lifetime member of the Greater Lenox Ambulance Service as an EMT,

as well. Then working at Hamilton College

and then Utica College

as Public Safety Officer.

From there he furthered his journey to working with the Red Cross (2013-2016) as well as the Salvation Army (2016-2020)

where he, for years, was interviewed on various news channels both local and national network,

deployed to various locations such as South Carolina during the floods, Texas during Hurricane Harvey, as other hurricanes.

As well as disasters such as The Blizzard in Buffalo New York.

While also have been the CPR/first aid instructor for the Red Cross and Salvation Army, as well as the National Safety Council and the American Heart Association. With hundreds of students and many more achievements still that I have not listed. He has touched the lives of many and is now in need of help with his medical expenses as well as home bills.

Having briefly explained the situation at the beginning, it doesn’t even begin to touch on how much they have been impacted, physically, emotionally, and now financially, and while treatment was going on, he still – while being monitored and with permission from his doctors - was still working, continuing support relief efforts. Even after two stays in the ICU, 4 skin grafts, and 6 rounds chemo level intravenous antibiotics, 4 separate IVs a day throughout the day. With each round of antibiotic, he would have to have a PIC line (which is a surgical procedure) to put in. (which is normally only used for cancer patients).

Being the type of people they are, proud and hardworking, they are the last that will ask for help and the first that will offer help, so I am asking for them. To this day, after all that the past two years has dished out they still put others well being before them and where suffering in silence something that no one should do, and they are needing help with their bills (medical and others) and on top of all this there are treatments that he still needs and is unable to afford, along with trying to keep their house. So I ask again, please help!