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Putnam Rallies To Support Sheriff's Deputy Battling Cancer

PUTNAM COUNTY, N.Y. -- As a Putnam County Sheriff's deputy continues to fight for his life, friends, family and co-workers are helping him in his battle by raising funds on GoFundMe and with fundraisers to keep his family of five going.

Deputy Michael Schmidt, 38

Deputy Michael Schmidt, 38

Photo Credit: GoFundMe

Deputy Michael Schmidt, 38, was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in September 2016. A deputy for the past 10 years, Schmidt has served as the youth and adult officer for Putnam County. Prior to becoming a deputy he worked three years as a civilian dispatcher for the Town of Carmel Police Department. 

Since being diagnosed Schmidt has been undergoing aggressive treatments of one to three chemotherapy sessions a day to suppress the cancer in preparation for an upcoming bone marrow transplant, said the GoFundMe page. 

After the stem cell transplant, Schmidt will have to spend approximately a month at Cornell Hospital in New York City. During this time he will be administered high doses of chemo to destroy any remaining cancer cells and wipe out his entire immune system. He will participate in some clinical trials and have a three to four month recovery time, followed by a lifetime of maintenance and testing, said the GoFundMe page.

All of this has been tough on his wife Sara, who is a teacher in the Carmel School District and his three children Samuel, Gemma, and Mason – ages 8, 7 and 3.

His medical costs are in the thousands of dollars and insurances only cover so much. Donations from the fundraisers and GoFundMe page will be used to help ease the financial burden on his family. 

In addition to the GoFundMe page, the Sheriff's Office is hosting a fundraiser on July 22 at the Patterson Fire Department to benefit Schmidt and the family of recently deceased Sheriff's Investigator Mark Gilmore. 

The event will include a family fun day with kid's activities, food and more. T-shirts are also available for $15. For information, contact Thomas Curran at 845-494-2182.

To donate to the GoFundMe page, click here.

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