Rachel Schmidt running a PB in the Carleton Place Heritage 5Km - Photo - ZoomPhoto

Profile of Spirited Determination

Most people would feel they had been handed a knock-out blow by nature, hampering their expectations of a long and fruitful life by visiting a dread disease upon them. Not merely a dread disease but one that had somehow managed to ravage the body to the point where it seemed the invasion would be unstoppable. It does happen. And it happened to Rachel Schmidt, a young mother of two very young children.

Rachel Schmidt was always athletic, always geared toward challenging the physical stamina she was capable of, proud of her ability to perform well in energy-challenging circumstances and eager to complete. While doing so, enjoying herself tremendously. Competing as a swimmer, a runner, gave her immense personal satisfaction. Like many other people, she was irresistibly drawn to physical performance and she was very, very good at it.

She began serious running in her 20s. She moved from British Columbia to the Ottawa area to work on a master's degree, and while in the National Capital Region she got hooked on road racing.Rachel Schmidt had been diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia. While running and snowboarding as an energetic young mother maintaining her passion for athletics, she caught a kidney infection in January 2012, and was put on antibiotics, which somehow didn't clear up the infection.

Blood tests were recommended and she was referred to the Ottawa Hospital's hematology clinic. Her husband was urged to return from a work posting in Asia. They were informed in March that she had AML, an aggressive form of leukemia. Once discharged from hospital after being in isolation for five weeks during treatment she began lifting light weights and taking short runs in her neighbourhood.

The leukemia was in remission. But genetic testing had informed her doctors that her AML was particularly aggressive and that in the process of her condition proceeding before diagnosis and subsequent treatment undertaken her DNA had been impacted: she had undergone a Chromosome 7 deletion, leaving her with a poor general prognosis. And she was advised that her survival would be dependent on a bone-marrow transplant.

After the transplant she slowly began to recover, following both chemotherapy and radiation therapy. The radiation oncologist expressed doubt that she would ever be capable of running again as a premier athlete. Rachel Schmidt schooled herself to have patience and endure the slow process of self-rehabilitation. It is her intention to continue running, to attend yoga classes, to be active with her growing children; that her example will give hope to others.

One year past her bone-marrow transplant with blood tests in the clear, she has hopes the leukemia won't return. She has taken a leave on her PhD in international relations at the University of Minnesota. And she runs. She'll be taking part in Emilie's Run for women, named in memory of Olympic runner Emilie Mondor, at the Canadian Aviation Museum this coming Saturday.

"When you have been that sick and unable to be the active person that you used to be, and see the potential end to everything that you used to enjoy, when you get that back, you just want to do it all the time. All I ever want to do is move, and I never want to sit still ever again", she stated, of her return to competitive running, eager to discover if she can run as swiftly as she used to be able to -- or even faster.

Parents and children participate in 2012 Sports 4 Emilie's Run 1k race held at the Aviation Museum in Ottawa.   Photographed by: James Park, The Ottawa Citizen