On Sunday, Susan Schneider, the widow of legendary comedian Robin Williams, accepted an award for her late husband who was posthumously awarded the 2016 Angel Harvey Heart of a Patriot Award by the USO of Chicago. The honor was given on the day that marked what would have been the couple's fifth anniversary. The servicemen and women were honoring the legendary comedian in his hometown for his commitment to entertaining thousands of troops throughout his career?a duty she said Robin got more out of "than you will ever know."
The most prominent battle for the actor was Lewy Body Dementia, which Williams was diagnosed with after his suicide in 2014. Schneider said, "The devastation on Robin's brain from the Lewy bodies, was one of the worst cases medical professionals have ever seen. Yet throughout all of this, his heart remained strong." The widow likened Williams' brain disease battle to those troops face long after they leave war saying, "Whether it's Traumatic Brain Injury, Chronic Pain, PTSD, or depression?they keep fighting. Brave enough to bear the truth of exactly how our brains and spirits get wounded. Meanwhile their caregivers and loved ones are there in the battle with them, sustaining their own injuries." As his partner, Schneider has since publicly championed on behalf of her husband's illness, working passionately to raise awareness and research for the disease.
