Ethan Asher

Five years ago Ethan Asher was beginning his senior year at Powell High School, but after a catastrophic car accident everything changed. Along the way Gottsche Therapy and Wellness has helped Asher move forward. Asher has made steady progress — he’s even gone so far as to take some steps in the pool.

He’s also set to be Gottsche’s guest speaker at its second annual Boots and Bling Fundraiser at the Hot Springs County Fair Building in Thermopolis on Sept. 7.

“We’re very, very excited about our guest speaker, Ethan Asher. We have been dedicated to working with him and helping him, and we’ve gone through the last few years with him, and he’s just a phenomenal person,” Gottsche CEO Cheryl Shero said. “He’s become our family and loved by all of our clinics, and so we’re really happy that he’s working on a video and being a guest speaker at this event.”

For the past year Asher, who has been in a wheelchair since the accident, has been using water and land work to train his legs. The idea to use the pool came from Lynda Brown, the owner and physical therapist at Advantage Rehab in Powell; she recommended Gottsche’s Cody location due to their heated pool, he said.

“When I started, I started just getting in the pool over there, and they were helping me kind of learn how to keep my balance and get more centered,” Asher said. 

Now, they outfit Asher with ankle weights and a weighted vest. From there they keep him walking straight but most steps are on his own, he said. 

On land Asher is not able to make his legs move on his own yet, but the therapists have been working on his balance and using parallel bars as well as furniture sliders under his feet.

“So learning how to walk is the long-term goal, and then kind of doing some sitting balance stuff on the side a little bit, or I’ll even do like, some tall kneel stuff up against one of the mat tables, and just kind of move stuff from side to side that way too. Just kind of help fire all those muscles that don’t work hardly as much as they would if I was standing, because I sit in the chair all day,” Asher said. 

Gottsche’s staff keep him motivated and give him and other patients hope, he said.

“I’ll have moments where I’m like, ‘Oh man this is kind of pointless,’ just kind of a lot of mental negativity a little bit,  and then something will happen at therapy, then I’ll be like, ‘Oh, if they’re not quitting I don’t know why I would.’ They’ve definitely helped keep my mental state healthy,” Asher said.

Asher has been working on his speech for the fundraiser, which will focus on his progress with Gottsche, and with the help of Kevin French he has also been putting together a video showcasing the progress he has made with Gottsche. 

Gottsche is also hard at work as it prepares for the Boots and Bling fundraiser’s second year.

“We haven’t had to have fundraisers in many years, because we’ve had so many generous donors that have continued to help and still do. A lot of them have helped but things have gotten pretty rough for them too, and times have changed,” CEO Cheryl Shero said.

Health care reimbursements have been cut back, but Gottsche wants to continue to serve the community, and its mission and vision has not changed. 

“Treatment was and continues to be given without discrimination of race, color, creed, or the ability to pay,” the about page of Gottsche’s website reads. 

Funds will go to all Gottsche clinics, but the funds aren’t just for patients in need, they also help with operational costs like when equipment goes down or wears out along with other expenditures.

“We want to uphold our mission of our entire 70 years and it’s to help every facility” Shero added.

And for those who come to donate, Boots and Bling is not only a fundraiser but also an event, Shero said. There will be a prime rib and shrimp dinner, live music from Keith O’Brien, many live and silent auction items, games, beverages for sale through the One Eyed Buffalo Saloon and door prizes. There also will be a raffle for a Winchester XPR Extreme Hunter Midnight MB 6.5 PRC rifle — only 200 tickets will be sold for the raffle. 

The doors for the event will open at 5:15 p.m. and dinner will begin at 6 p.m. Admission to the event is $40 per person. Tickets can be purchased at all Gottsche locations or by calling 307-864-2146. Limited tickets are available at the door.