Lake Byron Social Club’s annual breakfast planned Saturday at Gross Hill Barn

Freewill offering for meal to help defray medical expenses for Kevin Schiele and Mike Ball

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Mark your calendar for the Lake Byron Social Club’s annual breakfast Saturday from 8 to 11 a.m. at Gross Hill Barn. A freewill offering for the meal will be split between Mike Ball and Kevin Schiele to help defray medical expenses.
Those who would like to help but can’t make it to the breakfast can send donations to Gross Hill, 40426 N. Shore Rd., Huron, S.D. 57350.
Schiele has endured almost a year of agony and the loss of his right leg just below the knee, after he was bitten by a brown recluse spider at his niece’s wedding in Minot, N.D. It was July 29.
The brown recluse spider, which is native to the southern United States, releases a venom that destroys living tissue.
“That’s the second time I’ve been bitten,” Schiele said. “I got bitten three years prior to this in South Dakota and lost my big toe.
“I didn’t think it could happen again,” he added.
Following the wedding, Schiele said he went back to work and showed his foot to his boss. By then, the area around the spider bite was turning black.
“My boss told me to go to the doctor and I was sent to Sioux Falls immediately,” he said. “Good thing, it could have killed me. It was moving rapidly.”
Both bites were on his right foot, but the second bite caused the most severe damage.

“I had three surgeries,” he said. “I had them clean out the poison and infection three times. Then I was on a home vac, with home care, for three months.”
“I’ve been fighting this since July 29,” Schiele said. “They did the amputation nine weeks ago. It’s been a long road.”
Today he expects to be in Sioux Falls to start getting fitted for a prosthesis.
“I’m a very impatient person; I want to get it really bad,” Schiele said. “I clean it (his wound) and check it every day. Everything looks really good, and it feels really good.”
Schiele said he is grateful to Andy Gross and the Lake Byron Social Club for sharing this benefit with him and Mike Ball.
“I really appreciate it and want to thank Andy Gross for putting this on,” Schiele said. “Every little bit helps. Without a paycheck it’s hard to handle.”
Two years ago Ball found himself taking up a battle with cancer he thought he had won 17 years ago — clear cell renal carcinoma.
“I had this same cancer in my left kidney and they removed it and the adrenal gland. They got everything, and I got a clean bill of health.”
Two years ago, in March 2015, he was diagnosed with the same cancer, this time in his right kidney. His right kidney and most or all of the adrenal gland were removed, and he began taking dialysis and chemo treatments.
“I’ve been wrestling with chemo for over two years,” Ball said. “Currently I’m off chemo because  my heart is failing because of all the dialysis. I have no kidneys whatsoever, so I’m on dialysis every other day.”
Ball said he’s not a likely candidate for a kidney transplant because he would have to be cancer-free for five years.
The cancer has now spread to his pancreas and spleen.
Ball said doctor’s are focusing on getting him healthy enough to withstand surgery to implant a filter in his stomach that acts as a personal dialysis machine.
“The issue right now is whether I can survive the surgery,” Ball said. “It’s easier on your system than hemo dialysis, which is what I do now.”
Ball said he does dialysis in Huron and his other therapies and treatments are done in Sioux Falls.
“I pray every day that my prayer groups stay together and I get some intervention from the Big Guy,” he said.
“I set little goals,” Ball said. “I was able to see my son get married over Memorial weekend. I set little goals like that, and just keep at it.”