Two-and-a-half years after Bloomington teenager Ethan Glynn suffered a spinal injury during his inaugural football game, paralyzing him from the neck down at 15 years old, he reports he’s the “happiest [he’s] ever been.”

Now 17 years old, Glynn is tearing down the walls built up that day in the fall of 2022 by sheer willpower and the support of family and the community.

At his home on Wednesday, Glynn reported he’s been spending three hours a day, three days a week, in intensive physical therapy at Courage Kenny Rehabilitation Institute for the past six months.

“Just trying to work hard to get whatever I can back,” he said.

Videos provided by the family show Ethan upright in a harness as therapists move his legs to walk along a treadmill.

“It just feels like I’m floating,” Glynn shared.

The other couple hours are spent using electrical stimulation technology to strengthen his core, and the progress from that work was evident on Wednesday.

“I think last time you interviewed me, like, I had to have chest belt,” he said.

It’s true. 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS last sat down in March 2024. At the time, Ethan was strapped into his chair.

A year later, his face was fuller, he was visibly stronger and the strap that once held him up was no longer holding him back. His smile, though, was as wide as ever.

“Right now, I’m like the happiest I’ve ever been,” he said.

Older brother Parker Durkin beamed with pride.

“When I look at pictures and videos from like, a year ago, I’m like, ‘Wow!'” he said.

He works hard every day, just like he did before his injury, and as his brother, you know, I love to see it, and I wouldn’t expect anything less of him… I’m proud, but I’m definitely not surprised.”

The transformation was not so much a ‘miracle’ as it was a direct result of Glynn’s rigorous work.

He never lost his athlete’s spirit or his jersey number. The number “8” was worked into the name of the recently launched family foundation: ‘Just Be Gr8.’

“We were given the tools and the resources to start the foundation because of the support that happened when I was injured, and now we have the resources to give that back to people that are in a similar situation, which feels great,” Glynn said.

A soon-to-be recipient was a huge supporter of Glynn over the last couple of years.

Stephanie Luoma, a ‘beer-tender’ at Nine Mile Brewing, has been battling breast cancer for several years.

The Glynns partnered with brewery co-owner Bob Countryman, putting together a silent auction and fundraiser scheduled for Friday evening.

Luomo is “an absolute wonderful person,” Countryman said.

“I think she’s had over 70 chemo treatments; I don’t even know how many radiation treatments, and she has kept her spirits up in a way that I can’t even imagine.”

The silent auction went live online on Wednesday afternoon. The in-person event and fundraiser will be at Nine Mile Brewing on Friday from 5-9 p.m.