Jan Schmid

**We have been overwhelmed with people’s generosity and donations having carried oug the sponsored jump. We have a result extended our target again. The charity ‘Jan Schmid’, designed to help and support terminally ill children and their families has formally been formed and we intend to carry on fundraising. We make no apologies for asking you, your friends and families to dig deep and help us in achieving our goal. Thank you for your support.**

Our aim by setting up this page, is to help families with children suffering from cancer. We are hoping to be able to raise money in order to be able to give them a little treat, some kind of good news, whether it is a lunch on the beach, a visit to a water park or maybe even a trip to Euro Disney.

Teamstar holiday rentals, will donate €1 for every booking we take going forward on an ongoing basis.

Many of you will know Jan Schmid, as he has been working with us for the last 17 years. He has carried out all of our refurbishments, whether an entire property, or simply installing new bathrooms, kitchens, windows etc. Tragically his young son died of bone marrow cancer the 13 September 2017 at the young age of only 14 years. The first campaign is designed to raise money for him and his wife to have a much needed break in a retreat in Portugal. The family have been to hell and back and are now trying to get on with their lives somehow.

Jan junior was diagnosed with cancer the same week as Anke (my mother) in May 2016. Since then she has tried to support Jan and his family during the terrible months which followed. Jan junior endured 8 months of chemo, 2 operations and literally went through hell and back, as did his family.

He went to hospital in the May as he suffered from severe backpain. The hospital found a tumor on his 7th vertebra and was immediately omitted to children’s hospital "Materno" in Malaga, where further tests were carried out and discovered another tumor in his right leg. After a biopsy was carried out on the tumor, it was confirmed that he suffered from bone marrow cancer. The tumor in his vertebra broke the spine and put pressure on his nerves and as a result he lost all movement in his legs. An emergency operation carried out, the tumor was removed and metal support between his 5th and 9th vertebra was inserted. The doctors here after confirmed that Jan would be in a wheelchair for the rest of his life, but that he was cancer free and required 8 months of chemotherapy.

Jan junior refused to accept that he was bound to a wheelchair for the rest of his life and with the help of his family who carried out massages, private physiotherapy and more, he very slowly regained some movement back in his legs and after a few months managed to walk slowly on crutches. After 3 months of chemotherapy a second tumor was found in his leg. This resulted in him being sent to a specialist hospital in Seville where he was operated on. Before the operation, he was told that they preferred to amputate the leg, which the family did not accept. They removed 24cm from his right knee of bone and replaced it with prosthetic. The operation was carried out in the "knowledge" that he was not going to walk again. Yet, after months of private therapy, swimming and practice, Jan junior slowly began to walk again with the help of a zimmer frame.

It looked like everything was going well, after the last (14^th) chemo session, he had one final scan to check that all was clear, but unfortunately and tragically, the doctors discovered 4 new tumors in his body. The hospital told Jan and his wife Gemma that their son Jan wasn’t going to survive. This was in February this year.

Jan and his parents refused to give up. They went home and changed their lives completely. They started searching for alternative treatments, became vegans and as part of the treatment, Jan and his mother spent 21 days fasting at a special clinic in Navarra to try and get the toxins out of his body. The started to be hopeful, as they witnessed one tumor which was visible above the eye, literally shrinking. This was the first time they had some positive news.

Unfortunately, after fighting for so long, and losing over 20 kilos, reducing his weight to 43 kg, Jan didn’t have the energy to fight any longer. His organs collapsed. He was so strong and brave, never complained and one of the nicest, kindest boys I have had the pleasure to meet. He never cried unless he saw his mum cry. He fought with every bone in his body. Jan, died in his mother’s arms at 04.30am the 13 September 2017, following the strongest battle of cancer I know.

The family are heartbroken, and now have to try and continue with their lives.

Our aim by setting up this page is to try and raise enough money for families who have children with cancer. Whilst we can’t affect the outcome, we would like to be able to offer some funds to make their life easier. We would like to raise money for Jan and Gemma Schmid, so they can take a few days out of the hell they are currently living in and go to a retreat for a week. (Juicy Oasis retreat in Portugal ) We believe that after 17 months of sheer hell, they deserve to spend some time together.

In memory of Jan and to help raise awareness and money for Jan and Gemma, my family including Anke, Rhea, Jack, Dan, Ben and myself will be jumping out of a plane at 120 miles per hour at 13.000ft.

Please donate any amount that you feel comfortable with in memory of Jan junior.

May Jan rest in peace. His parents can never be more proud of anything more than of Jan’s strength and determination, his power to live and his positive way to always keep on going.

“I know that he is taking care of all of us up there and that now there is the biggest angel up there that god ever had." – Jan’s Dad, Jan Schmid.