Thousands of servicemen and servicewomen have made — and continue to make — sacrifices for our freedom. How war affected the Schei family is one of the most inspirational stories of all.
In Oct. of 2005, Army Spc. Erik Schei was shot in the head by a sniper in Iraq. Doctors said Erik would never recover from the catastrophic brain injury.
“At that time he was the worst gunshot wound the military had ever seen,” Deven Schei, Erik’s brother, explained. “The bullet entered above his right ear and exited out his left ear. It rendered him a quadriplegic. But he made a pretty huge recovery. My mom and 5-year-old little sister stepped up and became his caregivers. The military wanted to put him in a retirement home at 21 years old and my mom and sister wouldn’t let that happen.”
Deven vowed to enter the service to honor Erik and finish what the Schei name had started. But Deven ended up gravely wounded himself during 2010 in Afghanistan, when he and his three best friends were hit by four 80mm rockets. The blasts nearly took Deven’s left leg, throwing shrapnel all over his left side and putting him in the hospital for months, undergoing treatment and limb salvage.
“I’ve had somewhere around 21 surgeries on my leg…but it was my mental wounds that hurt most. PTSD was destroying me and I was losing the battle every single day. I had physical pain, yeah, but that was nothing compared to what was going on in my head,” Deven explained.
The collateral damage from both soldiers’ wounds extended to their family, one reason Deven became so involved with the Wounded Warrior Project, serving as the organization’s spokesman for the past several years.
“I attempted suicide multiple times and never succeeded. I had to think why. There was I reason I didn’t succeed. So I took a step back and got help. It took a lot for me to seek help. When I met Mark (Arnold) in 2011, I was still going through it all and he had no idea. But we formed this huge friendship. It seemed like I finally realized there was someone who cared and could relate to the mental anguish and dealing with what’s going on in your head and with your body. Mark really cared and that led me to golf and finding my ‘new normal,'” Deven explained. “I picked up golf because I wanted to hit something hard!”
Mark Arnold is a longtime Wadsworth resident who organizes the annual American Blind Golf Tournament, currently taking place at Ridge Top Golf Course. Mark is legally blind but can play golf as though his vision isn’t impaired. The ABG Tournament raises money for the Wounded Warrior Project and is the reason Deven comes back to Grizzly Nation every year. Last year, the outing donated $35,000 to the WWP.
Having two wounded warriors could’ve broken a family. But that wasn’t the case with the Scheis. A mother’s love and soldiers’ determination are traits nothing can rival. The Schei soldiers’ mother, Christine, has cared for Erik over the past 10 years without ever looking back. Their sister, 4 years old when Erik was shot, sacrificed her childhood to help care for her wounded soldier brothers.
Erik is still Deven’s hero. “(Erik) still puts a smile on his face every single day,” Deven said. “For someone to be a quadriplegic, needing 24/7 round-the-clock care, to be able to wake up and say every morning, ‘I’m happy to be alive.’ He’s amazing. He never lets anything get him down.”
Deven travels the United States sharing the Schei family story of never giving up, of determination and of the road to recovery. Deven’s speeches help other military members and their families cope with the sacrifices service members have made to protect our freedom.
“If the enemy knew what I was going to become today, he wouldn’t have come out. He took a lot away from me that day, but what he didn’t take away was my will to live,” Erik told his family.
What a powerful statement.
The Schei family story is best told by Deven himself, who recently gave this 17 minute speech: http://bit.ly/1JVWRso
What an honor it was meeting and talking with Deven in our studio on June 12, 2015. Deven and his family are truly some of the most inspirational people I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. Wishing the Schei family continued love, success and determination! -Tina
To learn more about the Wounded Warrior Project: http://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/
For more information about American Blind Golf: http://americanblindgolf.com/
