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Bloomington teen Ethan Glynn ‘keeps pushing through’
Last fall, a neck injury left Ethan paralyzed. Now in his recovery, there’s no place he’d rather be than in the company of his teammates and best friends.
BLOOMINGTON, Minn. — It’s hockey game night at Bloomington Ice Gardens, and inside the locker room at Rink 2, the Jefferson Bantam Double-A team is getting ready to play.
This was the team Ethan Glynn was on before a devastating neck injury left him paralyzed. There’s no place he would rather be than right here, surrounded by teammates — his best friends in the world.
He missed this connection so much while rehabbing for months in Denver after his catastrophic neck injury that happened in the fall.
He missed them, and they missed him.
“You said to me in Denver, ‘I’m still the same Ethan,’ said Randy Shaver to Ethan.
“Do your friends treat you like you’re still the same?” asked Randy.
“Yeah. Yeah, they do,” said Ethan.
“So, they haven’t let up?” asked Randy. “And you’re good with that?”
“Yeah, that’s what I want,” says Ethan.
The only difference now is, Ethan is a spectator, no longer able to be a participant. Now, he spends game nights surrounded by friends, up against the glass, cheering on his team. But as sad as that is, his parents, Corey and Cassidy, say just being here is a game changer for Ethan.
“I think it’s been amazing,” said Cassidy Durkin, Ethan’s mom. “It’s like a switch went off. I don’t want to say he’s a whole different kid, but just sort of being in his environment with his friends, with his stuff, he’s just smiling and happy.”
Attitude is everything, and Ethan’s mindset is nothing short of unwavering resolve. A perfect example, at a recent physical therapy session at Courage Kenny in Golden Valley, he once again conquered the standing chair.
This isn’t the only progress. He continues to strengthen his upper body.
“I feel like my arm is stronger,” said Ethan.
He’s showing marked improvement from just a few months ago, and it’s just enough to mess with his mom.
“We’ll be getting in the chair in the morning and I’ll have his arms and I’ll go to get his belt on the other side,” said Cassidy. “I’ll come in, his arm is off and I’ll be like, I thought I was careful, and I readjust it and then I go get the belt again. I come back, it’s down again, about the third time. He’s got a huge smile, you know, and he’s sitting there doing it. So it’s, you know, I make it. But yeah, he’s, you know, constantly messing with us, I guess. Same old Ethan.”
Same old Ethan, despite having to use a special mouth device to play video games, he’s still beating his older brother Parker more often than not.
Ethan insists they keep track of his wins on the whiteboard, and he’s still talking smack — which he loves to do.
Ethan and his brother are inseparable. In fact, Parker will be Ethan’s dive buddy. That’s right, Ethan is going on a dive trip. Before Ethan left Craig hospital, he was introduced to scuba diving. And he loved it.
He said it felt so relaxing.
So, cue up the next adventure — a diving trip to Aruba in June with other Craig patients.
Life didn’t stop when Ethan got hurt six months ago. He wouldn’t let it, not for a second. And all we can do now is watch and learn.
“Every day is a smile or it is a wink at us,” said Corey Glynn, Ethan’s dad. “Every day is, ‘Let’s keep busy, let’s keep busy.’ I don’t want to sit here, look out the window [like], ‘What are we doing today?’”
“So proud of him,” said Cassidy. “He just keeps pushing through. Just keeps going — a smile on his face the whole time.”
“Teaches you to give a little grace, you know? I mean, he’s very good at it. He’s had to be with being patient with us and just sort of a lot of life lessons for everybody.”
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EDINA, Minn. — The Edina football team fell just a few yards short of winning the Minnesota State 6A Football Championship last season.
Coach Jason Potts and his team are off to a great start again this fall — and hoping to make it back to US Bank Stadium.
But at the end of the day, the Hornets said it’s the journey of one of their teammates that inspires them to keep moving forward.
“All of the doctors that I’ve had in the past doubted me a lot. It felt good to finally put on pads for the first time,” said Edina junior John Liddicoat.
Friday nights in the fall illuminate the beauty of a dream being achieved.
“I love the feeling of Friday night. Looking at the student section right before running out the tunnel, getting that adrenaline rush,” said Liddicoat.
For Liddicoat, Fridays at Kuhlman Stadium transform into a canvas of joy, inspiration and bravery.
“He’s one of the most brave guys that I’ve ever coached,” said Potts.
Pushing limits is something John has done since day one.
“John was diagnosed with Williams syndrome when he was 5 months old,” said Mary Liddicoat, John’s Mom.
“It was devastating. We were devastated. We’d never heard of the syndrome, and he was super little and it was super scary,” she added.
Williams syndrome is a rare genetic disorder that impacts many parts of the body, including cognitive delay, speech and motor skills.
“The day he was diagnosed, the geneticist said he’ll never ride a bike, and I think we both made a mental note: We’ll see,” said Liddicoat’s dad, also named John. “He can ride a bike; he didn’t learn at 3 like his brother, but he learned at 10 and he says it’s his mode of transportation now.”
John handled the handlebars… up next? A bigger challenge to tackle.
“It’s kind of a big dream of mine when I was younger to play football,” said John.
“More than any other sport, he’s always wanted to play football. Every year, when I would drive him to school, and the register for tackle football youth football signs would go up, and John would look at me in the car and say, ‘Mom, I want to play football!’ And I would say, ‘We’re not sure that’s a safe option for you,'” said Mary.
Safety concerns gave way to John’s bravery and a coach who refused to say “no” to a kid’s dream.
“One of my goals is to have access to a football program for everybody, and I didn’t want any excuses for someone to not play football, and that’s why I’m here at Edina, is to help young people chase their greatest potential,” said Potts.
“Putting on pads for the first time. Putting on a helmet for the first time. Just getting on the field, seeing my buddies, it was just a wow moment. Like, wow, I’m in pads and cleats, I’m playing football!” said John.
For the past three years, John has played football alongside his brothers, like QB Mason West.
“I’ve known him since probably first grade, and ever since, he’s just been a really smiley and happy dude. It’s honestly really fun to be around him. All of my friends love him, and it’s so good having him as part of this team,” said West.
“Just to have him on the field in the program is something special, and what he accomplishes, I don’t think he understands what he brings to the program,” said Potts.
John’s enthusiasm radiates along the sidelines every Friday night, starring in his role, encouraging teammates and coaches alike.
“You know, I might get down on myself and maybe I made a bad play call or geez, it’s raining — what do we do? And all of the sudden, you bump into John, and he just kind of flips you. And he does that to other players as well. When things get tough, it’s like you bump into John, and he’s there to lift you,” said Potts.
Lifting and inspiring others to achieve their dreams as well.
“I like to play for the other kids with disabilities that can’t do much. For me, I see kids with worse disabilities than mine, and I always feel like I need to show the world that not only can kids with disabilities do stuff, but they can play high-impact sports like football or wrestling or whatever sport they want to do,” said John.
MINNEAPOLIS — There’s a new hi-tech way for visitors to learn about downtown Minneapolis.
City officials on Wednesday cut the ribbon on new kiosks called “IKE.” They’re loaded with information so users can search for restaurants, small businesses, bathrooms and events in the area.
Unlike using a major search engine like Google, this is all tailored for Minneapolis.
“Each kiosk is going to organize based on proximity. So unlike traditional search engines that you might work with, you can’t pay for optimization. So when you select eat and drink here, the businesses in the immediate proximity end up being featured. And we hope that this functions as a way to help people discover those businesses that make Minneapolis truly unique,” said Jibran Shermohammed of IKE Smart City.
Five kiosks are live now, including one on Nicollet Mall and 20 will go live will go live by spring next year.
More than 100,000 travelers will fly out of MSP Wednesday and Thursday, but thousands more are planning a ‘staycation’ over MEA break.
LAKEVILLE, Minn. — At MSP airport, officials say Wednesday and Thursday will be the two busiest days for departures during MEA break this year. More than 49,000 travelers are expected to fly out of MSP on Wednesday, and more than 52,000 are expected to depart on Thursday. Airport officials say Thursday could become the 5th busiest travel day ever.
Meanwhile, countless families in Minnesota are planning “staycations” closer to home. At Applewood Orchard in Lakeville, workers are preparing for a busy week.
“We’re really looking forward to seeing the turnout,” employee Jackson Cox said. “If the turnout is a little lower than we think it’s always better to be prepared for more.”
The Cox family recently acquired the apple orchard, so this will be their first time hosting visitors during an MEA break.
“We’re pretty much extending all of our weekend activities to every day this week. We’re selling mini donuts, tractor rides, and more food, because we are hoping a lot of people will stop by,” Cox said.
One visitor who stopped by Wednesday was Natasha Apple from Apple Valley. That’s right, the word apple is in her name, the city she lives in, and the place she visited Wednesday afternoon.
“You really can’t make that up,” Apple laughed. “Me and my husband get it all the time. We’re the Apples and we live in Apple Valley, and we love apple orchards.”
Apple was visiting the orchard with a mom’s group from Apple Valley.
“There are eight of us here I believe,” Apple said. “It’s still stinking beautiful out so we are taking full advantage of the weather.”
And they weren’t alone at the orchard. Jenny Yohnke from Lakeville stopped by the orchard with her three boys.
“With three boys they have a lot of energy, so I brought them to the corn pit to have some fun,” Yohnke said.
She has big plans for the rest of MEA break.
“We’re heading out to the zoo tomorrow and then we have some friends with school kids, my friend from work coming to visit on Friday. We have a busy week of fun,” Yohnke said.
Other parents at the orchard said they are planning to stop by a pumpkin patch later in the week to buy their Halloween pumpkins.
Another common “staycation” idea was to enjoy a nature hike to see the fall colors, or to go to the movie theater to see a movie, or stop by the local library.
So, if you’re looking for a fun and affordable activity to get your family out of the house there are several options to choose from.
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