{"id":65832,"date":"2019-08-22T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-08-22T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2019\/08\/22\/remembering-jason-schoo\/"},"modified":"2022-09-02T17:02:48","modified_gmt":"2022-09-02T22:02:48","slug":"remembering-jason-schoo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2019\/08\/22\/remembering-jason-schoo\/","title":{"rendered":"Remembering: Jason Schoo"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jason Schoo, who died Aug. 19 at the age of 46, will long be remembered at Nebraska Medicine\/UNMC for his work with head and neck cancer patients.<\/p>\n

From 2003-2018, Schoo worked as a certified medical assistant in the Specialty Care Clinic at the Nebraska Medical Center.<\/p>\n

His expertise in head and neck cancer came from personal experience. In 1995, he was diagnosed with olfactory neuroblastoma, a tumor involving the smelling nerve. It developed into a more aggressive form of cancer called adenocarcinoma.<\/p>\n

He lost much of the middle of his face, including the nasal bone, the nasal septum and the left side of his hard palate. His makeshift nose was topped with a couple of band-aid strips that basically covered a hole in his face that couldn’t be closed.<\/p>\n

In a UNMC Today story from 2006<\/a>, Schoo talked about how he interacted with the head and neck cancer patients coming through clinic.<\/p>\n

“I love to get patients talking to one another to get them laughing,” he said. “I’m there as a friend. I’m there to listen to what their problems are and to be someone they can reach out and tell their inner thoughts to.<\/p>\n

“I know how isolated they feel. I tell them, ‘Don’t be bitter. You didn’t do anything to deserve this.’ I can find out instantly who is depressed, then I try to get them to open up and help them work through their problems.”<\/p>\n

He was known for his great sense of humor — usually at his own expense.<\/p>\n

“It’s only natural for people to stare when they see my face, but I have to keep laughing,” Schoo said. “I have a T-shirt that I sometimes wear. It says, ‘Keep staring. I may do a trick.'”<\/p>\n

Schoo was a three-sport athlete (golf, basketball and baseball) in high school and won the Nebraska Class B state golf championship. He played basketball in the Junior Olympics competing against NBA great Shaquille O’Neal. In recent years, he has been one of the top golfers in the Nebraska Medicine\/UNMC Golf League at Elmwood Park, and he helped lead his team to several championships.<\/p>\n

“He made a huge impact on all the lives that he touched throughout his years here and within the Omaha community,” said Kim Waszgis-Vaca, a clinical research data senior associate in the blood and marrow transplantation program for Nebraska Medicine. “I knew him very well and know the day-to-day challenges he faced, but he always continued to go on.<\/p>\n

“He never had a ‘pity me’ or ‘why me’ attitude, he just accepted what he was dealt with and tried to make everyone he came in contact with realize that their life could always be worse. But, more importantly, he made them feel that they can and will get through anything. He was living proof of this.”<\/p>\n

In reflecting on his work with head and neck cancer patients, Schoo said, “I know this is what I’m supposed to be doing. The greatest thing is to get a hug from a patient. They say, ‘This hug is good until I see you again.'”<\/p>\n

A memorial service for Schoo will be held at 10 a.m., Saturday, Aug. 24 at the Heafey-Hoffmann-Dworak-Cutler West Center Chapel, 7805 W. Center Rd.<\/p>\nNf bgd <\/a><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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