Two brothers linked in her mind

To the editor:
Two years ago today two brothers come to mind.  My beloved brother, Phil, had battled breathing problems for over two years but the last year it had become increasingly worse.  Much to Donna’s and my dismay he refused medical treatment saying he would go to a doctor and get his “asthma” under control once he had found another job and secured insurance.
The day had come when we had convinced him to go get a chest x-ray but that was not to happen.  As I was sitting at home waiting on the call late afternoon to take him I received a call from Donna that he asked her to call 911 because he couldn’t get his breath.
I raced across town not knowing what I would find but as I turned down the street I saw them wheeling him out his front door, his coloring purple.  
But there in his yard, among all the emergency vehicles, I saw a young man I had known and respected since he was in kindergarten.  A calming effect came over me just knowing this young man was on the job and a part of this.  I ran from my car to the young man asking if I had time to talk to Phil.  Immediately recognizing me he said yes but be quick because they had been unable to get any air into his lungs.  
A ventilator was attached to Phil at the JCH ER and he was transported to BMH to their ICU unit.  The quick work of everyone involved allowed us almost two more months with my baby brother.
I have taken way too long to thank everyone involved with this.  From the EMTs, the police, the medical staff in the ER and this young man in the yard making sure the path was clear to get him from his home to JCH.
That young man I saw in the yard that day had gone all the way from kindergarten to graduation with the other west end kids, one of whom was my daughter. I watched him grow into a handsome young man with a beautiful smile who always acknowledged me when we ran into one another.  I had known his parents since high school; had worked with his brother, Chad, at Ludwig’s and was fortunate enough to be card-playing friends with his sister, Lori, and her then-boyfriend and later husband, Ted.
The tale of two brothers includes Matt Aker, another brother to his siblings.  I think that no one will know the peace of mind that Matt brought to me that day.  And that is when I remember all of the lives that Matt Aker touched; to all of the lives he helped protect.
And then less than a year later we were all to lose Matt. To Mike and Linda, Brooke, Matt’s brothers and Lori and Ted Ferguson, please know his memory plays a big part of many other lives also.  
And then to see these “brothers” buried so close to one another at Green Park, I often get to pay my respects to the both of them. Brothers lost too soon but joined again in the hereafter.
Melodi Haley
Portland

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