Tested by medical challenges, the Schaa family is standing strong as they gathered for a benefit Sunday in Kamrar. From left in front are: Addy Schaa, Max Schaa, Lauren Ehn, Randy and Kim Schaa, and Izzy Schaa. In back are: Shelby and Dan Schaa, Caroline Ehn, Nikki and Matt Ehn and Henry Ehn.

KAMRAR — Kamrar Lions members and friends manned the grills. Church women served up the baked beans and all the trimmings of a small-town meal at its finest. Scurrying around in their green t-shirts, young 4-H’ers carried trays of food for those who needed a helping hand, and cleared away the dishes so that the next group could take a seat.

It was a full house, and then some, on Sunday as friends poured into the small town of Kamrar to help raise funds for a family whose lives changed in a split second on Nov. 28, 2022. It was a true community effort, jointly sponsored by the Kamrar Lions Club, Community Church of Kamrar, and Kamrar Presbyterian and Methodist churches. Lions members estimated that upwards of 350 to 400 people were served.

With so many turning out for the Randy Schaa benefit at the Lions building, it’s fair to say that the streets of Kamrar haven’t been this crowded since the Komets brought home that girls’ state basketball championship more than a half century ago.

“It’s overwhelming,” said Kim Schaa.

Kim, the soft-spoken side of the couple, was moved with gratitude beyond words as she and Randy, her husband of nearly 45 years, welcomed the onslaught of friends to the dinner.

Randy, as has always been his way, put a smile on every face he greeted as the couple together welcomed guests under the warm July sun.

They met in high school in the 1970s. She was from Williams, he was a Kamrar farm kid, and they were high school sweethearts at Northeast Hamilton. He was one year ahead of her in school. They became engaged the Christmas of her senior year.

She graduated in the spring of 1978 and they married on Oct. 28, 1978. It might have been sooner, but Kim wanted to show calves at the fair that summer, and young married ladies didn’t do that kind of thing in the 1970s.

The couple settled down on a farm near Kamrar, where Randy farmed and raised livestock. They were still on their honeymoon when a call came from Hamilton County Auditor Mary Kesler, asking if Kim wouldn’t like a job in the office. Sure enough, Kim did like that job, and is still there today, now as the officeholder herself.

In the coming years, Kim and Randy would welcome three children; daughter Nikki Ehn and sons Mike and Dan. As a family, they grew and had fun together in 4-H and county and state fairs. Eight grandchildren have since joined the family. Randy and Kim moved into Webster City five years ago and son Dan and his family are now on the farm. Mike and his family live in Florida, while Nikki and her family are in Webster City.

Their lives were full, not perfect, but joyful. They had no idea what was coming on Nov. 28, 2022.

“Randy was coming home from the farm, he still has a hog barn out there, and I was at home,” Kim said as she began the story that would change everything. “I heard the door open, but he didn’t come in. I went and looked out to see if he went back to his truck to get something, and he wasn’t there. I happened to look down from the steps in our garage, they’re about four feet high, and he had fallen from the top of those stairs and hit my car, which was parked in the garage.”

From there it was a flurry of emergency phone calls and helicopter rides. The couple’s daughter, Dr. Nikki Ehn, was at work at Van Diest Medical Clinic, and was on the scene in a matter of minutes.

As it happened, Ehn was on-call that week. Her first call was to Dr. Subhash Sahai.

“He said, ‘My dear, I will take call, don’t worry.’ He and Dr. Duwe jumped in and took call,” Ehn recalled.

The ER at Van Diest Medical Center erupted in motion to care for Schaa when he arrived by ambulance. It was soon determined that he would need advanced care, and he was sent by air ambulance to Mercy Hospital in Des Moines.

But even the specialists at Mercy quickly agreed that his care needed to go to the next level.

“The neurosurgeons at Mercy took a look at his films and decided he would be better served at UIHC (University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics),” Nikki explained.

Through imaging, it was found that Randy had suffered a traumatic cervical spine injury, fracturing the C-6 vertebrae and causing a hernia between the C-6 and C-7 vertebrae.

UIHC specialists wasted no time in getting to work on a game plan to give Randy the best life possible going forward with such an injury.

“He got down to Iowa City a little after midnight on Nov. 29.” Nikki recalled. “Initially they talked about manipulation, and then at about 2 or 3 a.m., they said, ‘We need to do surgery right now.'”

It was to be the first of two surgeries to stabilize his spine in just his first 48 hours at University Hospitals. He would spend several weeks in the ICU. In addition, he was intubated because his body was not able to breathe on its own.

For daughter Nikki, who earned her M.D., from the University of Iowa, she became the family navigator in this complex medical journey.

“My role was to serve as the interpreter,” Nikki said. “I’m not an ICU doctor, I’m not a surgeon. From a treatment standpoint, that is not what I do. But I can at least interpret.”

Of all the ups and downs in this long medical journey, perhaps the one moment the family treasures most is when a speech valve was placed on the trach so that Randy could talk. It had been several months since he had been able to really talk, first because of intubation, and then because of the tracheotomy.

“Practically all the nurses and everyone on his floor came in when they put that speech valve on because they wanted to hear his voice,” Kim recalled. “One of the little gals was in tears.”

For a man who is known for his quick wit, regaining freedom of speech was an important milestone. But there were many more milestones in this long journey.

He had arrived in Iowa City via air ambulance on Nov. 29. He was there until March 20, when he was transferred to Mercy One Rehabilitation in Waterloo. After five weeks of inpatient rehab there, he was transferred to Van Diest Medical Center to continue his therapy.

Meanwhile, the family was busy making changes to the home so that Randy could eventually return. Nikki’s husband, Matt, built a ramp. Doors were widened to accommodate his electric wheelchair. Son Dan took over all the work at the hog barn.

“I didn’t have to think about anything at the farm,” Kim said.

Her family came together, sharing the many trips first to Iowa City and then to Waterloo. Kim is grateful to her staff at the Hamilton County Auditor’s Office who stepped up to do what needed to be done.

“They are just wonderful,” Kim said of the staff.

Kim would typically work in the office Monday through Wednesday, and then drive to Iowa City Wednesday night or Thursday morning. She stayed in touch and was able to do some work remotely with a laptop computer.

Nikki and Dan went on the days they were available.

In addition to the mileage, the meals and housing, renovations to the home, and the purchase of a wheelchair van, there are medical expenses beyond measure.

After an initial release from VDMC, Randy was able to spend about five days at home, until a pressure sore necessitated a return to inpatient care here in Webster City. He is hoping to be released again soon.

From that November day, he has made tremendous progress. But work remains in front of him. Years on a zero-turn mower, according to Randy, have made him proficient on his electric wheelchair. The injuries are complex, and he needs to regain strength to support his upper body, as well as to be able to clear his throat.

But no one is under-estimating this determined farmer. His wit, charm and determination are unchanged. The physical challenges are complex, but there is hope with time.

“They said it can take at least a year before you see a full recovery,” Nikki said. “I think gains can be made long after that.”

It’s all a matter of time, and support to make it happen. Clearly, as seen at Sunday’s benefit and throughout this long journey, community and family support runs deep.

“The physical and occupational therapists at Van Diest Medical Clinic are great and have done a lot of good work, but we would really like to get him to a specialized neuro-muscular rehab facility,” Nikki said. “All my clinic co-workers have been nothing but supportive.”

For Kim and Randy, life goes on. Forever changed, but still together as one.

“We are taking one day at a time,” Kim said. “By the grace of God, we have made it through each day.”

Members of the Kamrar Komets 4-H pitched in to help carry trays and bus tables. From left are Shyla Tapper, Amanda Pigsley and Andrew Pigsley.

4-H’er Bobby Tapper had his hands full clearing tables.

Crowds filled the Kamrar Lions Building for a benefit for the Randy Schaa family on Sunday. An estimated 350 to 400 people were served during the event co-sponsored by the Kamrar Lions, Community Church of Kamrar, Kamrar Presbyterian Church, and Kamrar Methodist Church.