Everyone is invited to a fundraising chili supper Friday at 6 p.m. at the Huron Campus Center, a benefit for the Dan Schlader family of Huron.
Schlader, a sergeant with the Huron Police Department and a volunteer firefighter, was diagnosed with multiple Myeloma in early September. Since then he has taken weekly — and occasionally daily — trips to Sioux Falls for chemo, and is scheduled for a stem cell transplant on June 18.
Schlader, who has been with the Huron Police Department for 23 years, and his wife, Terri, have two sons, Brenden, 18, a senior at Huron High School, and Brayden, 15, who was the subject of the Leadership Huron Fundraiser to purchase a Sway Swing in the park by Splash Central.  
Dan, who is rarely ever sick, began feeling poor the week of Aug. 26, just as the S.D. State Fair was getting underway.
Terri, a teacher at Huron High School who also works at Lewis Drug, encouraged him to see a doctor as his illness steadily grew worse through that week.
She was concerned that Dan could pass something on to Brayden, who is disabled and has had very fragile health this past year.

By Friday, Aug. 31, Dan was so ill he was unable to work, and after much persuasion from his wife, finally agreed to go to the emergency room.
Doctors initially diagnosed him with West Nile virus. But additional tests revealed his battle with multiple myeloma.
Dan and Terri discussed that no matter what happened, Dan was going to be the one in control of his treatment for as long as he possibly could. This gives Dan some sort of control over his life, and treatment — probably the only thing that can be controlled with cancer.
He spent the next week as a patient in Sioux Falls, then began a weekly regimen of chemo.
Fellow officers Tom Moeding, Jack Neitzert, and Denny Meyer have helped give Dan rides back and forth to Sioux Falls, so Terri can continue to work and take care of Brenden and Brayden at home.  
Dan has not been able to work since he came home sick in August, mainly because of his weakened immune system.
Doctors had wanted to schedule a stem cell transplant in March, but Dan requested that it be pushed back until June so he could attend Brenden’s high school graduation ceremony.
There are no guarantees that the transplant will not lead to more complications.  Once the transplant occurs, Dan will have several weeks of isolation in the hospital to make sure that he can rebuild his immune system. During this time, any infections could be life threatening.  
The first week of February Dan traveled to Sioux Falls each day for procedures to help prepare him for a stem cell harvest.
He was able to produce enough stem cells, so that he should have plenty for the transplant. The cells are now being treated and will be frozen until the transplant, which will be during the week of June 18.  
Although chemo has been hard on him, Dan’s goal is to get back to work as soon as he possibly can.
The Schlader’s would like to thank everyone for their support, words of encouragement and prayers. It means a lot to them. Please come out and share a bowl of chili with Dan.