FARGO -- 'Home for the holidays' means a lot more this year for a former Fargo Davies High School soccer player and coach. He's home after spending most of the fall at Mayo Clinic in Rochester. Thankful, not just for time with family, but for two new lungs and a heart that saved his life.
"It really is a miracle that I'm here and there is always a Christmas miracle every year, right?" Ryder Schmidt said as he sat in his family's home in South Fargo, recounting a year that changed he and his family's life.
The story of this miracle, actually starts back in April. Ryder, a seemingly healthy nursing student and soccer coach, started feeling exhausted, even passing out. Those turned out to be symptom's of heart failure.
"I was on my way to a nursing exam, and I passed out in the parking lot, and it was only about a one-block walk," Ryder recalled. "I really should have been able to walk that far without a problem."
In August, Ryder went in for a lung operation and a major surgery to remove blood clots. Things went from nerve-wracking to down-right scary in a hurry.
"The last thing I remember is just talking to the anesthesiologist and then waking up about 20 days later with a new heart, new lungs, and eight surgeries," Ryder said.
A lot happened in that time: A second surgery, going on life support, and finding out on his 22nd birthday he would need a heart, double-lung transplant.
"Staying just literally across the street from the hospital seems like you're a world away and 0.1 miles, you can't get there fast enough," said Casey Schmidt, Ryder's mom. "And then the silence is deafening."
The transplant itself had its scary moments. At one point, Ryder was given a one-percent chance to live.
"I'm most thankful that he's here because there was a real chance that he he wasn't," Casey said. "You don't realize how close that actually is until you start reading the operation notes in his chart, or any surgical notes in his chart, or any of the doctors notes."
Ryder says the emotions of being a transplant patient are complex, but there is gratitude. Gratitude for the doctors and nurses, a generous donor family, and a community that was there for him every step of the way.
"For me it's just really making the most out of this life," Ryder said. "If the worst thing is that I'm going to be on medications that put me immunocompromised, that's not as bad."
"It's very difficult to watch your kid go through something this difficult," said Travis Schmidt, Ryder's dad. "We're tough. We stick together and we just help each other through it."
Nothing prepares you for an ordeal like this, but maybe Ryder's experiences with sports helped a bit.
"I just wanted to put in the work and just show everyone that just because I had a heart, double-lung transplant that it's not going to slow me down," Ryder said.
"I always knew he was gonna be okay," said Noah Schmidt, Ryder's younger brother. "He's strong, he's not gonna die on me."
Ryder isn't just here, he's thriving. He's back at school, working at Sanford, and hanging out with Gus, a new puppy and the only thing he asked for while at the hospital.
"(Gus is) just my little emotional sport animal that I got and he's just kind of a reminder of the things that I went through," Ryder said. "He's just our little bundle of joy, too."
In one of many late nights in a hospital waiting room, the Schmidt family came up with an idea that would become the Schmidt Healing Hearts Foundation. The organization hopes to help families of young adults facing similar medical challenges with care packages and financial assistance. You can find more information about the foundation at this link .