EMMETT, Idaho — Emmett High School student council members are stepping up to support one of their own after a sudden health crisis changed one classmate's life.
Emerson Hardman was born and raised in Emmett. He was class president from his freshman through junior year, senior class treasurer his senior year, and played football, track, and tennis — serving as tennis captain his senior year.
After graduation, Hardoman was working a physical job in asphalt paving and cement work while saving money to attend flight school, with dreams of becoming a pilot.
WATCH: See how the community is supporting Emerson
His original plan was to attend the University of Alaska Anchorage, where a bachelor's degree in aviation costs about $400,000. He received about $370,000 in scholarships, but they were spread across different schools and couldn't be combined. He is now planning to attend Silver Hawk Aviation in Caldwell, which is much closer and more affordable.
Then, on December 7, everything changed.
The night before, Emerson had gone to the movies and dinner with his family, then stayed up until about 1 a.m. playing games with his roommates. The next evening, his roommates couldn't get him to respond and called his mom, Heather Hardman.
Heather, who was the librarian at Emmett High School, arrived to find Emerson's face drooping on the left side. He was going in and out of consciousness. She called 911 immediately.
Paramedics identified left-sided paralysis. Emerson was rushed to St. Luke's in Nampa for a CT scan, then transferred to St. Luke's neurology department in downtown Boise.
Doctors discovered he had an arteriovenous malformation (AVM) — a tangle of veins in the brain that had ruptured, causing internal bleeding and a hemorrhagic stroke.
Heather explained the AVM is not genetic — it was simply an abnormality Emerson was born with. Doctors told the family that unless someone had a CT scan or the AVM ruptured, they would never know they had it.
"There was no way of knowing that this was something that was going to happen," Heather shared, "He was otherwise really healthy, so it was just a total fluke."
Emerson had a craniotomy to remove the AVM and a growing hematoma. Doctors also drilled a small hole in his skull to relieve pressure before the surgery. After surgery, Emerson's blood pressure kept spiking, and he began thrashing, so doctors had to keep him in a medically induced coma for several days, bringing him out very slowly.
The family spent four weeks at St. Luke's — three weeks in the SICU and about 10 days on the neurology floor — before Emerson moved to the Elks Rehabilitation Hospital for five weeks of intensive rehabilitation.
At the Elks, Emerson was on a regimen of three to five therapy sessions a day, six to seven days a week, including speech therapy, occupational therapy, and physical therapy. Initially, it took three people just to help him sit up on the edge of the bed. He had no torso support and could not move his left side at all. He had to be moved using a Hoyer lift just to get into his wheelchair.
Emerson opened up about the beginning of his physical therapy journey, "The first day of physical therapy, it was pretty rough. I couldn't really stop crying. Cuz I was trying to stand up. And it wasn't working."
But after that first rough day, Emerson decided to think about it realistically and just focus on getting better.
It took several weeks before Emerson could talk again. The moment he said "hi, Mom" was the moment Heather will never forget.
"I will remember that day forever, just walking into his room and looking over at me and saying 'hi mom' and I... that's the best sound I've ever heard," Heather recalled.
Emerson's first memory in the hospital was on Christmas Day, when his brothers — ages 24, 23, and turning 21 — came in dressed as elves and Santa to deliver his presents.
The day before Emerson left the Elks, he was able to start moving his left quad — a major milestone. Current physical therapy includes working on a treadmill with braces and walking in a harness to practice movement.
Doctors have not given the family a specific prognosis, but have told them, "He's young, the brain wants to work. It will make those connections back again."
For Heather, faith has been their anchor throughout.
"Knowing that we can rely on the Lord, rely on friends and family to pray for us, I definitely believe in the power of prayer because that has sustained us and kept us going through all of this," Heather said.
Emerson recounted the outpouring of support from friends — including a video from friends currently on missions who gathered together to wish him well — meant everything.
"It was really nice just knowing everyone out there was praying for me," Emerson said.
Heather said it was comforting to know the family had that last good memory together — the movies and dinner the night before the stroke — before everything changed.
Heather took a leave of absence from her job as school librarian to care for Emerson. She is hoping that after about six months of rehabilitation, she will be able to return to work, depending on how much care Emerson still needs.
Neighbors, classmates, and strangers stepped in to help — renovating the family's bathroom for wheelchair access, building a ramp, and modifying Emerson's room so the wheelchair could fit through the door. Heather noted that people have been anticipating needs she didn't even know she had yet.
When Heather and Emerson visited the school in March and met with Mr. Hindy, teachers came out of the woodwork to cheer Emerson on. The visit was especially meaningful given the close relationship between Emerson and Mr. Hindy.
Just a couple of weeks before the stroke, Emerson had stopped by Mr. Hindy's classroom just to catch up after graduation.
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"You could just tell that inside Hindy was hurting because when you have a teacher-student relationship, which is very rare, you love those children so much," EHS Student Council Community Liaison Brynn Howell observed.
Heather expressed her thanks for those who have shared their support, "The community has been just super wonderful, and I so appreciate their willingness to help us in our time of need."
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Student council members — many of whom know Emerson personally — decided to organize a fun color run to raise money for his medical expenses. The idea came not just from student council members, but from students outside of the student council who came to them and asked if they could do something for Emerson.
Howell described Emerson as the kind of student who would never say no. She recalled how he dressed up as Santa Claus during the school's 12 Days of Christmas and played the role perfectly, and how he would come into class every day and give Mr. Hindi a hug.
"We knew that we wanted to do something for him that was super meaningful and out in the community," Howell said.
Howell, who was born and raised in Gem County, underscored how efforts like this are what make the community so special.
To prepare for the event, student council members went out in groups of four to hand out informational flyers to nearly every business in Emmett.
"We're not about just planning dances and having fun. We're genuinely a family, and we love to support each other. And so this just really goes to show that we want to help everyone come together at the end," Howell explained.
Sophomore Reese Larson, who will serve as ASB secretary next year, said the planning took a lot of thought and effort to get right.
"ASB really pulled it together when this happened," Larson noted, "Emmett might go through rough patches, but I mean, we all come together at the end of the day when stuff like this happens, and I think this is just a great example of what that can look like here."
The Fun Color Run is happening Saturday, May 9, at 9 a.m. at the Gem Island Sports Complex. The student council is encouraging neighbors to wear burgundy or red T-shirts — Emerson's favorite colors. All proceeds will go directly toward Emerson's medical care.
"I think everything's got a plan, and... we just don't know what that plan is," Heather said.
To check out Emerson's GoFundMe, you can click here.
