Not All Super Heroes Wear Capes

First things first. Glenn and I would like to thank all of you from the depths of our hearts for the prayers and positive thoughts on our behalf the past month. Many days have not been easy. We know if it had not been for the faith and prayers of each of you, we would not be making the progress that we are. We have so much to be grateful for. The love and compassion we have felt from our friends and family have buoyed us and we are so thankful to have all of you in our lives.

When we heard the devastating news, I called our kids from the emergency room to let them know. There were still so many unknowns as we waited for Glenn to be transported from St. Luke’s to St. Al’s so Dr. Andersen could perform the surgery. Jared said, “I’ll be right there as soon as I can.” And he was. He flew in from Portland on the next flight and I honestly don’t know what we would have done without him.

Jared stayed by Glenn’s side for the next two weeks. He worked with him to build strength in his left side, practice his respiratory exercises to keep his lungs clear, handled the nausea problems like a champ, kept the pillows propped so Glenn was comfortable and coaxed him on every day. He also took care of the things that needed to be done at home for me so that I could stay at the hospital. His "Can Do" and positive attitude is larger than life.  Just what we needed.

As Glenn progressed, Jared became his Google search engine. They would be talking about something, be curious about it, and Glenn would have Jared look it up. Has there ever been a football game where a penalty flag was not thrown? What is a diacritic? Jared would help Glenn’s mind become stronger as well as his body.

We are grateful to Jared beyond words. I have always known how much Glenn loves Jared. To watch Jared exercise such love, concern and compassion for Glenn as a son to a father has touched my heart the same as watching Glenn’s love for him.

We also know Jared would not have been able to do all of the things he has done for us if it was not for his amazing wife, Jamie. We love Jamie so much. She has supported Jared in everything he has done. Jamie and Brennan are in school and were preparing for mid-terms. They came as soon as they were finished with classes. Jamie took care of things at our home and helped the boys get everything ready for Glenn's return. It was a comfort to know we had her to supervise the manly force!

Brennan has always been my calmness in the eye of the storm. He gives us such comfort and peace. He’s my other IT guy and provided the technical knowledge and skills when it came time to move Glenn’s elaborate computer system in his office at home. We’re so grateful for everything he’s done for us, especially entertaining Glenn in the hospital. He has the same spirit of harmony that Glenn does and brings such a balance to our family.

When the three of them returned to Portland, we felt a huge emptiness. They had all stepped in and taken care of what we needed and helped us be prepared for what was ahead. Glenn said all of the “encouragement” of getting two boys to the rank of Eagle Scout had apparently paid off!

Jared and Jamie were able to come back on Friday and have spent the weekend raking leaves, cleaning up the yard, and getting us ready for winter. They also helped Glenn get his things from his office at work—not an easy day. They cooked amazing food for us. Jared loved hanging out at the house with Glenn while Jamie distracted me with some retail therapy. It was so nice to have a few days with some of the old “normalcy” to them. We, again, are so grateful for the love and compassion of our family.

Thank you everyone for all you have done for us. There are so many heroes in our life and we truly appreciate everything you do.

Love,

Glenn and Linda

P.S. I can’t wait to tell you about our daughter! That’s next…….