"You just got to keep going": Ethan Glynn is inspiring, motivating teammates months after devastating football injury
BLOOMINGTON, Minn. – It's a moment in time Ethan Glynn's family will never forget.
Sept. 2, 2022. The freshman at Bloomington Jefferson High School was playing in a football game when what appeared to be a routine play changed Ethan's life.
He is now paralyzed, and adjusting to a new normal. But what hasn't changed is Ethan's ability to inspire and lift up everyone he comes in contact with.
"They were touching me and asking me if I could feel it. And I couldn't feel it, and that's when I knew it was, I knew it was bad," Ethan said.
Ethan's life had changed. The young, energetic, athletic young man known for his leadership, his sense of humor and his will for life had been side tracked.
"He's strong, he doesn't complain, and he always wants to, you know, give his very best," said brother Parker Glynn.
So began a journey no one anticipated; one that took them to an extensive rehab in Colorado. When he finally returned to Minnesota, he sought out his winter team. The hockey teammates that awaited him at the rink.
"I didn't even know what to think. Once we kinda made eye contact, my heart just kind of sank. And it was just a special moment, for sure," said teammate Frankie Schmitz.
His family found an apartment that was compliant and rented two spaces – one just for Ethan and his brother.
"You just go through each day just one foot in front of the other and takes what comes at you. And we know it could be a curveball," said mom Cassidy Durkin.
The two boys keep mom going in their own way.
"I'm so proud of both of them," she said. "We're a pretty tight family [laughs]!"
Ethan was back, and he was now inspiring his friends and teammates. What was emerging was more than a story about a horrific incident. It was becoming a story about what to do with the hand you are dealt. It was about a family's attitude.
"I can't undo it, so let's just move forward everyday, fill our day with as many things as we can, fill our day with as many normal things as we can. And before you know it, you kind of find a routine," said dad Corey Glynn.
And Ethan began to lead again, in a different way, to his team.
"He always like talks to us after the game and he always like tells us like what we did wrong and what we could've done better. He gives us little speeches," said teammate Gavin Grochow.
He goes to every game and he watches, and in some ways it is therapeutic.
"It makes it easier because I get to be back in a hockey rink, which just feels nice. And I get to watch my friends play," Ethan said.
"He's just always had a ton of energy," Schmitz said. "He's just the kid we always wanted to be around."
In the middle of it all, there is a new normal that has been accepted.
"He's always making people laugh, he's always making me laugh, he's always making his friends laugh," Parker said. "He's just unique. One-in-a-million kid, one in a million. I'm just so proud of him."
And the takeaway is Ethan is reminding everyone that attitude is a choice; it is independent of circumstances. And that surrounding yourself with the right people, it matters, a lot.
"They all reach out. And when I was in Colorado [they] checked on me. And they've just, they've helped me," Ethan said.
And he's helped them to understand the choice he has made, for what is difficult to comprehend.
"At the start it's like everyone just feels so bad for him. But even in the tough times, he's been able to like put a smile on his face, and it's just great to see him happy," said teammate Teddy Lechner.
This young man really has only changed physically, and he's become stronger emotionally – and he's refused to give in to circumstance.
"Stuff happens fast and it can change just like that, and you just got to keep going," Ethan said. "You're going to have people there to support you. You just got to keep going."