Hazen man auctioning house after bills from Guillain-Barre diagnosis

A Hazen man is auctioning his house Saturday after being diagnosed with a rare autoimmune disorder. Daniel Schwindt was healthy and working in the oil fields when he started getting tired.

He didn’t get better and eventually ended up in the emergency room. That's when doctors gave him the diagnosis of Guillain-Barre Syndrome, something that affects only 1 in 100,000 people. The body's immune system attacks the nerves, which can lead to paralysis and even death.

Even after getting a life-altering diagnosis, Mike Schwindt tried to have a laugh with his doctor.

"He said this is really rare and I said yea I know that. I can't win the damn lottery but I can win this," said Mike Schwindt.

He was diagnosed with Guillain-Barre syndrome. Mike spent more than a month in the hospital. Every day, dropping a little more weight.

Mike said: "One day I went in the bathroom because they were getting me out of bed to brush my teeth and it was hard to get over there, but it was one of the things I had to do. I saw myself and I actually thought I was dying."

And every day, good or bad, Mike had his three cats and his wife Lisa.

"This isn't going to beat us. We're going to beat this, we just have to learn patience," said Lisa Schwindt.

"There was a time where I didn't want to do it, I said no this was it for me, but I chose to keep fighting because I had her support," said Mike.

Lisa said: "It wasn't even a thought to leave. I'm not going anywhere, you know he would do the same for me."

But the bills were too much to overcome, now the Schwindts are auctioning their house and packing up, getting ready to move.

"We love it here, we love our house, we've done a lot to it, but it's time to let it go," said Lisa.

Because Lisa knows it could be worse and she's thankful that she still gets to have time with her husband.

The auction will be at the Schwindt's home, 951 Antelope Drive in Hazen, Saturday starting at 11 a.m.

The family also has a GoFundMe set up for medical expenses : https://www.gofundme.com/knshdu-help-with-medical-expenses