Meridian's Chaparral Elementary School rallies to help teacher care for husband

Jodi Bryant was instantly smitten when she opened the door for her first date with future husband Eric.

“Wow,” she recalls thinking. “Love at first sight.”

It was summer 2010; that evening’s dinner and ice cream turned into hours of earnest conversation. It was no surprise when that date quickly turned into a typhoon of amour.

Less than a year later — in April 2011 — they were married. Jodi, 40, quickly conceived, to the couple’s delight.

But the second-chances fairy tale came crashing down Dec. 22.

That’s the day Jodi delivered her baby boy, Joseph. That’s also the day Eric Bryant, 42, was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer.

Jodi, a fourth-grade teacher at Chaparral Elementary School in Meridian for about a decade, will end her maternity leave in a couple of weeks. But the school staff and the wider community are working to see to it that Jodi can stay home to care for her 5-week-old baby and her husband, who needs round-the-clock care after brain surgery.

Eric Bryant started chemotherapy and radiation treatment this week. He’s currently hospitalized because of complications.

The fundraiser Wednesday night at the school coincides with math night. The school is offering eight tables full of gift baskets in a silent auction.

Her friends and well-wishers hope to raise enough money so Jodi Bryant can stay home until the next school year.

NOT A BURDEN

“Jodi has one of the biggest hearts ever,” said Chaparral Principal Doni Davis. “It took a while for her to allow us to help. She doesn’t want to be a burden. That’s the very last thing she and her family are right now.”

Davis praised the Chaparral staff, students and families for rallying around the Bryants.

Eric Bryant hails from California. He’s worked as a paramedic around the West, and came to Boise to become a physician’s assistant. He was in his last semester at Boise State University when he was diagnosed.

Jodi is an Idaho girl. She has two teenage daughters from a previous marriage, Kaitlyn Hancock, 15, and Emalee Hancock, 13. Eric has a teen son and daughter from his previous marriage, E.J., 18, and Sydney, 17. They live in southern Utah with their mom.

“We haven’t been able to spend a lot of time with everyone together,” Jodi said.

It was partly Eric Bryant’s respectful “family man” status that she found so attractive, Jodi Bryant said.

CONFUSED AND FORGETFUL

The trouble started in November. Eric Bryant started getting confused, sleepy and forgetful.

“We thought maybe he had a sinus infection,” Jodi said. “As December progressed he was getting headaches and slept a lot. He would forget things easily.”

She sent him to get checked. He got a CAT scan on Dec. 22, the day Jodi had an emergency C-section.

“It was very stressful,” she said.

AGGRESSIVE CANCER

Eric Bryant was diagnosed with a glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer. He had surgery to remove the growth on Jan. 3, which left him permanently disabled. After that, he spent a couple weeks of rehabilitation with the Elks.

“He’s doing well for the surgery he had,” Jodi Bryant said. “It was a very major surgery.”

Though doctors aren’t sure exactly how long Eric Bryant will live, people with his diagnosis typically survive from 12 to 36 months.

“It all depends how he responds to treatment,” Jodi said.

She is trying to bear up under all she has to manage right now as a mother to a newborn son, mother to teenaged daughters, a stepmother, and a care-giver for her husband.

“I guess I realize I don’t have a choice but to do it,” Jodi Bryant said. “There are times, sure, I’d like to sit and go into my dark hole. I can’t do that.”

She’s looking forward to the time she has left with her husband.

“I don’t have anything but happy memories,” Jodi Bryant said. “We still have time ahead. The time he was healthy and we were together was nothing but happiness. He is an amazing man.”

Kathleen Kreller: 377-6418