Here's an
article from KSL about our awesome neighbor who participated in the Race.
They got a few fact wrong, but I still love it.
SOUTH JORDAN — One day Reed Thatcher was living an active, generous life. The next day he was fighting just to survive.
"He woke up really late one night (four years ago) and told my mom he
had a really bad headache," said his daughter Becky Nielsen. "He was
sweaty and clammy, and he got up to use the bathroom and collapsed."
The 79-year-old suffered two kinds of strokes and spent seven weeks at
the University of Utah Medical Center. Doctors weren't sure he'd live
through the night, so they advised the family to take his recovery day
by day.
He battled back, but the body he once used to help his family with
projects and physical tasks was now as much a burden as it was a
blessing.
"Before the stroke, he did 100 push-ups a day, worked on the loading
dock at Kohl's," said Nielsen, one of Thatcher's three children. "He was
so active right up until the day before his stroke, he was helping his
son-in-law put new floor boards in a condo."
The stroke severely hampered his ability to do some of life simplest tasks.
"He hasn't been able to drive," Nielsen said. "He can walk with a
walker, and it didn't affect his mind. But physically, he's pretty
limited."
The stroke may have changed Thatcher's physical abilities, but it didn't change his attitude.
"My dad had never complained, ever," said Nielsen. "Even now when he
struggles to get up, and then once he does, he's shaky, if you ask him
how he is, he always says, 'I'm good, just good.'"
Thatcher and his wife of 57 years, Gloria, moved to a smaller home in
South Jordan last year so she could more easily maintain their yard.
That's when they became neighbors with a woman named Trisha Thurber. The
former programmer at Hill Air Force Base has been battling brain and
skin cancer since April 2011. The disease made it impossible for her to
work full-time and she had to sell the home she bought in South Jordan —
as well as drain her savings account — in order to pay her mounting
medical bills. On Saturday, Sept. 29, her friends and family hosted a 5K fun run to help with her medical expenses.
He never gave up. And he always told us, 'You don't quit.'
–- Becky Nielsen, daughter
So Reed and Gloria Thatcher pinned race bibs neatly on their shirts and walked 5 kilometers for Trish.
It was the farthest he's walked since his stroke.
"He walks about a mile every morning to stay active," said Nielsen.
"Doctors told him it would help. He's still just determined to get
better. He always says, 'When I get rid of this walker and can do things
on my own, I'm buying another truck.'"
His family is inspired by his attitude and efforts on behalf of others
every day. This time neighbors, friends and strangers witnessed it. It
moved Thurber so much that later Saturday night, she and her mother
visited Thatcher in his home.
"They brought my dad a gold medal for walking for Trish," said Nielsen.
"They were so touched that he showed up bright and early to show his
love and support for Trish even though it is so difficult for him."
Thatcher downplayed his participation. Nielsen reported him saying,
'She's such a nice little gal, I'd do anything to help her.' She
continued, "He's just so patient, always really optimistic."
Nielsen said both of her parents inspire her because "it would be so
easy to give up." But from the time she was young, they've been
preaching a different sermon.
"He never gave up," she said. "And he always told us, 'You don't quit.'"
Nielsen said her father guided the family through losing her older
brother and her own son, the deaths within nine weeks of each other.
"They just never quit," she said. "They help us all through all of it."
