Ethan Glynn's football team returns to the field for the first time since his devastating injury
ST. LOUIS PARK, Minn. -- Freshman football players from St. Louis Park and Bloomington Jefferson High Schools joined arms on Thursday evening, in honor of the Bloomington player who couldn't join them on the field for the game.
Last Friday, 15-year old Ethan Glynn suffered a devastating injury during the season opening football game against Chaska.
Ethan's parents have been posting updates through a blog on CaringBridge. In their first post on Saturday, they said their son "suffered a severe neck & spinal cord injury that has left him paralyzed from the shoulders down."
On Thursday, Bloomington Head Coach Tim Carlson described the six days since Ethan's injury as "a blur."
"It was that thing that everything fell into place to go wrong. I wish I could explain it. I can't," Carlson said. "Ethan did everything right, the Chaska ball carrier did everything right. It just … was a tragic accident, and now the next step is just to help get him get better."
Carlson said he had known Ethan and his family for years, having coached his brother. He described Ethan as "a natural."
"He works extremely hard. He's always the one to ask questions, how can he get better. He's a fighter. He's got a lot of never-give-up in him, and those are qualities where in sports it's gonna transfer to his life situation now. You know, he's gonna need to be a fighter, he's gonna need to be tough to get better, and I have no doubt that he will," Carlson said.
At Thursday's game, several students and coaches were wearing Black and Blue shirts with #EG8 at the front, a nod to Ethan's initials and his jersey number. The backs of the shirt also has the number eight and three words: "We Got You."
"They look like they're happy now and they're playing with joy, and they are. But an hour from now when they're alone with their thoughts, it could be different," Carlson said. "In the end, they're ninth grade boys whose brother is hurting. They want to go out and they and to play. They want to play like Ethan with that toughness and that spirit. It says a lot about them and says a lot about Ethan … because I'm sure Ethan would have it no other way than have these guy us out here playing today."
As Ethan's teammates returned to the field Thursday, his parent's posted an update on his condition.
"They were finally able to get his pain under control with some med adjustments last night, which coupled with the new bed made for a good night's rest. Today has been a busy but good day," the post read. "He has had visits from both OT and PT. He has excelled at using the communication board which has allowed him to take in some sports highlights, a movie & communicate with us!"
But Carlson also said it was important to remember that as Ethan heals, both he and the student-athletes were also doing their own healing from the tragedy.
"They're gonna still struggle, and this isn't a one day thing. It's not a one week thing. This is something that they're gonna go through for quite some time. And as a coach, as a school, as faculty, we're gonna be there and support them all we need to," Carlson said. "I'm ... processing it, too. Could we have done something? Who could have done anything different to prevent it? And I keep coming up with the answer no. It's just … it happens and now we have to deal with moving on from it."
Ethan's team won Thursday's game, 26-0.
