Highland native thrives with new heart By James Jacenich • Staff Writer
MONTEREY - The Rev. Jack Schooler of Hurt United Methodist Church says God worked a miracle in his life, giving him more time to do the Lord's will on Earth. Last year, he got a new heart.
 | | Jack Schooler gives God the credit for his recovery after heart disease and a heart transplant. (Recorder photo by James Jacenich) |
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Schooler, 62, is the son of Highland natives Charlotte Simmons Schooler and the late Clyde Schooler, and he has been a minister for 17 years. He was told last year he was too old for a transplant. His heart, weakened by the flu in 1984, was failing. Schooler had bouts of congestive heart failure throughout the 1990s. In May 2000, he lost consciousness at the pulpit due to ventricular tachycardia, a potentially lethal irregular heart beat.
"God, our Heavenly Father, was with me that day," he said.
A doctor and two nurses, who normally worked weekends, were at church. They performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation and went with him to Lynchburg General Hospital.
"Another sign of God's protective hand was that the local rescue squad was holding an open house that Sunday and their response to the doctor's 911 call was immediate."
Schooler had a pacemaker installed to regulate his beat. Nonetheless, his condition worsened and he continued to have periods of ventricular fibrillation, a severely abnormal heart rhythm. In 2006, his cardiologist told him he had done as much for him as he could. Only a transplant could save him, but he was probably too old for one.
He listened to Mary, his wife, and his daughter Rebekah, who told him to get a second opinion. At U.Va. medical center, he was told he was at the median age for transplants and was placed on a waiting list. "Praise the Lord, God had opened another door," he said.
He was told he may have to wait one to three years for a new heart. His health deteriorated, but his faith never wavered.
"I got to the point where I had to be driven to church and from church on Sunday mornings even though the church is right next door to my house," Schooler said.
In November, he was back in the hospital, having lost consciousness from lack of regular heart activity. He was upgraded on the transplant list as his heart continued to deteriorate.
"We called churches and friends and asked them to pray for me," he said. "I went to bed that night with a lot of thoughts going through my head."
He was told he couldn't leave the hospital until a new heart was found, something that could take 3-8 months. "What happens next is the reason this pastor has grown to believe in the power of prayer," he said.
"Around 1 a.m. Sunday morning, Nov. 19, I awoke to find three excited nurses standing at the foot of my hospital bed.
"At that time, I honestly thought that they were three angels sent by God to take me home," he said. "But God, in answer to hundreds of intercessory prayers of faithful Christians, had sent them to tell me that a new heart had been found for me."
He went into surgery that morning and was out of surgery before church services began.
"Mary was able to call the church and let everyone know that the surgery was completely successful in answer to their many prayers before God," said Schooler. "Praise the Lord! God is so good."
His mother Charlotte said, "We think God had a hand in this. Everything worked out so well."
"We are thankful for the donor family's gift and our prayers go out to that grieving family," said Mary.
Schooler is recovering well and walking more than half a mile a day. He will soon begin a 12-week cardiac rehabilitation program. He returned to his pulpit Jan. 21 and delivered his first sermon after the surgery, "God keeping his promise to be with those who love Him."
He is thankful to his congregation for their support during his illness. "They have all filled in doing all of the ministry needs that were necessary during my absence," he said.
Schooler was reared in Manassas and frequently visited family in Highland and Bath counties.
Charlotte said her son first showed signs of a calling to ministry in high school, but Jack said he wasn't sure he could handle the years of training at the university level the ministry required. He was also thinking of getting married, going to work and starting a family.
So he earned an associate's degree in accounting from the University of South Carolina and married Mary Davis Schooler of Columbia, S.C. They have been married 40 years and had five children, one of whom is deceased.
Jack said he first felt the call to the ministry or missionary work in 1988. By then he had worked at the Blue Grass Valley Bank for nine years. He was actively involved in local church affairs as a lay speaker when his pastor asked him if he ever considered entering the ministry.
He came up with the same excuses he had before - lack of education and family responsibilities. But the pastor told him of a special program for second-career pastors that would allow him to become ordained while supporting his family.
Schooler attended seminary during five summers at the Duke Divinity School's course of study for ordained ministry 1990-95. The program took about four weeks a year on campus to complete.
After ordination, he was appointed a United Methodist minister for a three-church charge in Amherst. After seven years there, he transferred to Hurt, where has been ever since.
Jack said while he didn't have the formal education many ministers have, he learned a lot about being a minister from the challenges life has given him and is, therefore, better able to help those who turn to him for spiritual guidance. Now he can add heart transplant to his list of trials in which his faith triumphed over adversity.
Jack and Mary Schooler's family has been plagued by illness, says Charlotte. Mary is a cancer survivor. One daughter died from a weak heart. One son spent a lot of time in hospitals and received a pacemaker for a defective heart when he was 16.
Schooler's father, Clyde, died of Alzheimer's disease six years ago. Schooler later had an opportunity to help a fellow church member through a similar experience.
"They trusted in God in everything," said Charlotte. "And God has tested them.
"Maybe the reason Jack is alive is to share his experience with others," she added. "There is a purpose for every child that is born."
Jack was employed by the Blue Grass Valley Bank as an accountant and still serves on the board of directors. While living in Highland County, he was a member of the local fire department and rescue squad.
Schooler is certain God has a special reason for keeping him alive. His mission on earth is not yet over, he said. "Mary and I know God brought about my successful transplant and will bless future donors who will give the gift of life by sharing their organs with others in need," he said. "I encourage all people to seriously consider and pray about being an organ donor. One person can help as many as seven people with the organs they possess.
"Although there is grief with the life that is lost, there is also great joy in knowing a part of your loved one lives on through the life of someone else."
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