By Kate Lohnes
Darren Schnegg will talk with you about anything.
You might only spend a few minutes with the 40-year-old Dublin resident, but that’s plenty of time to hold a conversation.
Schnegg, who volunteers every Wednesday at Dublin Methodist Hospital, considers talking one of his primary duties during his weekly volunteer position in the hospital’s surgery department. As patients finish their paperwork, Schnegg serves as their escort during the process, ushering them into and out of surgery. When spending time with a patient, he says he tries to help him or her feel at ease during tense or difficult moments. Sometimes that means chatting about random topics; other times, it means providing a little company.
“We talk about anything and everything,” Schnegg says. “I try to keep them upbeat and get them to talk about something. Most of the time, it works.”
Schnegg understands the fears and uncertainty that accompany surgery as a result of his own experiences. The former apartment complex operations manager was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 1998, two weeks before his 30th birthday. Since the diagnosis, Schnegg has had three craniotomies (brain surgery most commonly done for tumor removal), chemotherapy and radiation, three eye surgeries, a hip replacement and hand surgery.
Schnegg’s diagnosis came as a complete shock, says wife Lori Schnegg. Both she and her husband believed he was in perfect health before visiting the family optometrist for a check up.
“We went to the eye doctor just because,” she says. “He didn’t go for any reason other than I was saying he needed to go to the eye doctor. We went and they noticed a problem.” The eye doctor sent him to a neuro-opthamologist, who discovered a brain tumor.
Schnegg has since beaten the cancer: doctors surgically removed the tumor in June 2001, shortly after the birth of Annie and Noah, the couple’s twins. He finally came home after the tumor removal in October 2001. Because of the cancer and the procedures he has endured, however, Schnegg deals daily with physical impairments. His speech is slow and sometimes hard to understand, and because he has limited mobility, he uses an electric wheelchair.
In spite of his limitations, Schnegg refuses to let life happen without him. In addition to volunteering at Dublin Methodist, Schnegg also volunteers twice a week at the Emerald Crossings assisted living home, where he plays board games with the home’s residents. Schnegg also helps out with his son’s Boy Scout troop.
Schnegg has a positive impact on everyone at the hospital, says Susan Conley, manager of volunteer services at Dublin Methodist. Patients and employees enjoy his company, she adds, finding inspiration in his dedication, optimism and self-sufficient nature.
“I know he has an impact on the staff,” Conley says. “They constantly remind me of how outgoing he is, and how much they appreciate what he brings to the patients.”
Conley says Schnegg doesn’t let his disability hold him back, always finding a way to connect with people.
“He’s very good at reaching out, not only with patients and staff, but anyone he comes into contact with,” she says. “He can really bring someone in, and they forget about the disability. He’s a good friend for everybody.”
Schnegg says he volunteers for several reasons. While he enjoys having a positive impact on the people he meets, he says his volunteerism benefits him, as well.
“I want to work,” he says. “I do it to volunteer, not for money. It’s an opportunity to get out of the house. It’s a great outlet. I enjoy the pre-op. I love it.”
Because Schnegg can no longer work, Lori says his volunteerism has become an extremely important part of his life, and gives him something to look forward to.
“I know he wants to work. He needs to have a life outside the home,” she says. “He needs to establish new connections, to have new people to hang around, to feel productive and useful. Wednesday is his favorite day of the week. He’s in a better mood. This opportunity has been huge for him, and he has so much to give.”
Schnegg says he hopes his presence provides some comfort to the patients at Dublin Methodist. Even as their discussions run the gamut of topics, Schnegg says he does offer one small piece of advice, from someone who understands their feelings: don’t worry about things you can’t control.
“I tell them to just relax,” he says. “I say anything that will happen, will happen. Worry about that after the fact.”
Kate Lohnes is assistant editor of Dublin Life Magazine.