Amanda Schmidt lost her brother just under three months ago to tragedy and due to the kindness of others, did not lose him again this past weekend.
On June 16, Schmidt's brother, Steve, died in a tragic accident when the side-by-side all-terrain vehicle he was driving rolled and he was ejected from it. Steve’s skull was crushed and fractured in three places; his spine was fractured as well.
The days that followed were some of the most heart-breaking for his family, particularly his loving big sister.
Schmidt said she was very close to her brother and has been grieving the last few months since his passing, but at least she had the many memories in her mind and on her phone to get her by.
When her phone went missing Saturday night, Schmidt panicked and the grief came flooding back.
“I can’t even explain how lost I felt,” she told BarrieToday. “It was like experiencing his death all over again, like I lost him all over again.
"I had no sleep at all and I was up all night and then just glued to my computer all next day just waiting and hoping for a response," she added. "I was emotionally exhausted and the last few days have been an absolute emotional roller-coaster and I was a mess.”
The heartbroken Schmidt felt a flood of emotions, from grief and loss to guilt, as she realized she had done what nearly everyone with memories does on their electronic devices and put off backing them up. Not a social-media person usually, Schmidt took to Facebook in hopes of a miracle.
“I know I should have everything backed up, but I didn’t. You always put those things off,” said Schmidt.
“I had set it down, I remembered exactly where I left it and when I went back to get it it was gone," she added. "I had a bunch of people helping me look for it and I was desperate to find it; it was things like his voicemail, different photos and videos of him and the real time things that I couldn’t get anywhere else.
"I put out a frantic post on Facebook hoping maybe 20 or 30 people would share it, but the response was much more and unbelievably touching.”
From when the phone was lost on Saturday night to being returned the following afternoon, the post was shared approximately 5,500 times all over the province and country.
Schmidt also tried all the tricks of the trade one uses when they lose their phone in hopes that whoever had it would show some compassion.
“I went on to FindMyiPhone, but it had been turned off so that couldn’t help me,” said Schmidt. “But I could put on an emergency message with a call-back number, so I put out a little message just saying what had happened and a brief explanation about the tragedy we were enduring and the memories on this phone are some of all I have left.”
Hoping for the best but expecting the worst, Schmidt got a call back and found out how to get it. She didn’t ask any questions and just wanted the phone in her hands as soon as possible, which is what she did.
While social media can get a bad rap for its many time-wasting games and the drama that one can see from an opinionated post, Schmidt has seen the good side.
“I am usually not a huge fan of social media at all,” said Schmidt. “This was a desperate measure and I just put up a plea hoping for the best. It went places that you would think wouldn’t help, but people were sharing to friend’s of friends and then some, the outpouring of support from strangers was overwhelming.
"I want to express just how much of an impact the compassion and kindness of everyone involved in this has had on me," she added. "It has truly restored my faith in humanity and shown me how much love there is in the world.”
