surgery but ended up being a large surgery because the cancer had spread everywhere. I spent a week in ICU (Intensive Care Unit), due to Rhabdomyolysis, which causes muscle tissue breakdown. I then had acute kidney failure and I was on continuous dialyses for three days. I also had a fever between 104 to106 degrees and the doctors were unsure that when I woke I would still be me.” Luckily Chris did wake up the person he has always been. He is still the valiant fighter living each day the best he can, which, in his case, has not been easy these last few years. “Just recently I was diagnosed with Esophageal cancer or GI Junction cancer between my esophagus and stomach. This last year I spent a month at the Mayo doing chemotherapy and radiation and the doctors were very surprised that after radiation and chemo there was no residual cancer. Because of that there was no need for surgery which would have been removing a piece of my esophagus, move my stomach up, reattach it, and leave me with a very small stomach and virtually no esophagus.” Chris is now on a medical trial using Keytruda, which is an immunotherapy drug used for lung cancer but has been shown in research to be effective with GI cancer. “Now I take a trip up to Mayo every three weeks, they give me the drug and I come home. The doctor’s hope is that the drug will ‘supercharge’ my immune system and make it attack the cancer.” Chris’s wife Brooke, an attorney with Swier Law Firm of Avon, adds, “It has definitely been a journey and now we do testing. It will be fine, and thankfully we ended up not having to do the surgery for the esophageal cancer. It is hard to watch your husband go through this, and once we added the girls to the mix, it is very hard.” Support from family and friends has been a vital resource that has helped Chris and his family get through this difficult time. Both Chris and Brooke are quick to say the support they have received from family, friends, and the community has been incredible. The Pink Ladies of Avon and Dante was one of the first organizations to offer support when Chris was first diagnosed with cancer. And more recently a benefit was held at the Avon Fire Hall for Chris with over 300 people attending. “We have come to realize” Brooke says, “that there are people who really do want to help and we need to let them do that. I hope that we can pass that on to other people to be very appreciative of the support of friends and family.” “It is very humbling to see such support.” Chris says. “And the meals!” Brooke adds. The teachers of the Yankton school district made meals for the Schloss family and Chris says those folks are like a family. “They have been amazing,” Chris says, referring to the teachers. “We rented an apartment at Mayo and they made sure we had crock-pot meals or frozen meals we could put in the oven the whole time Brooke, the twins, and I were there.” “And people in Avon would bring food when we were home on the weekends or if I was home with the girls while Chris was away. They would bring meals and we didn’t have to cook. We still have things in our freezer people had brought and it has just been amazing.” Brooke replies. Chris says he was hesitant at first to move to a small community such as Avon but now realizes there is something very special about the place he calls home. “This neighborhood is the best. We wouldn’t be anywhere else. We all support each other. We know each other and it’s like an oldfashioned neighborhood where everyone is outside playing and we yell out the front door to come in for supper.” Chris is the father of twins, conceived from in vitro fertilization, a miracle in and of itself. “We only had to go one round and it wasn’t a huge ordeal but it was still a large process. According to Chris, science has evolved at an incredible pace in the realm of in vitro fertilization and today many things can be foreseen that weren’t possible not so long ago. “We did a genetic panel to see if there was concern for genetic issues that may be passed to the girls. It was an 80-point genetic check panel and I gave them literally two vials of blood.” Chris tells me of the 80 different genetic checks that search for possible genetic issues, not one of the 80 presented any concern. A “definite NO” was the answer to all 80 possible concerns. All is well and twin healthy girls are part of Chris and Brooke’s lives. Chris, his wife Brooke, and his beautiful twin daughters Lucille and Josephine have experienced a considerable amount. They have experienced hardships as well as miracles. They have witnessed the frailty of life and the indomitability of the human spirit. Chris is a miracle and a lesson given to us to emulate. We can know that even though life has its ups-and-downs, we must continue to keep our spirits high and never give up. When asked what he has learned from the trials he has faced in his life he gives a great piece of advice he says he repeats quite often now. “If you can’t laugh you can’t do anything. You have to find the humor in it to get you through it.” According to Chris humor is one of the very best medicines and it has made him and some of his struggles the source of many humorous yarns from time-to-time. The koozies made for the recent benefit are a perfect example of the humor Chris Schloss has within him. The words drafted upon the koozies read: “It takes BALLS unless you’re SCHLOSS!” Indeed it does! n 1981. A lawyer, a tax accountant and a financial advisor walk into a bar. Seriously. That was the start of a well-coordinated plan that’s still paying off in 2017. Managing wealth is no joke. And advice coordination is essential as wealth grows, and grows more complex. From thoughtfully planning for a long retirement to addressing unique needs, a Raymond James financial advisor can pull the pieces together to orchestrate a properly synched approach. LIFE WELL PLANNED. Bob Willcockson Investment Representative 225 Cedar Street, Yankton (605)665-4950 First Dakota Brokerage Services, Inc. A subsidiary of First Dakota National Bank. Securities offered through Raymond James Financial Services, Inc. Member FINRA/SIPC an independent broker/dealer. Securities offered through Raymond James Financial Services, Inc., member FINRA/SIPC, and are not insured by any financial institution insurance, the FDIC/NCUA or any other government agency, are not deposits or obligations of the financial institution, are not guaranteed by the financial institution, and are subject to risks including the possible loss of principal. Raymond James is not affiliated with First Dakota National Bank and First Dakota Brokerage Services. HISVOICEvMAY/JUNE 2018v9