Midwest Teen Named ‘Superhero’ By Farmer In Need
We keep hearing about the community impact lately when it comes to finishing harvest when a family emergency happens. Someone hears about it, rallies the neighbors, and the field gets done in hours.
But sometimes it only takes one person to make a difference to someone in need.
Last fall, 63-year-old Minnesota farmer Steve Brake found himself in the hospital, right in the middle of harvest. He was diagnosed with a rare, debilitating nerve disease.
Upon arriving home, says an article in KARE 11, Steve desperately yearned to get back in the tractor. But it wasn’t safe for Steve to be in the tractor by himself.
That’s when Mary, Steve’s wife decided to ride along with him. Well for one day.
Then Steve’s neighbor Abi called.
Abi was 16 when she started helping Steve in the cab. And she wasn’t just there for days, she helped Steve for months.
Abi helped Steve finish his harvest after school until 10 or 11 at night and then all day on the weekends helping him read the tractor screens and navigate the fields.
Then one day, Abi and Steve switched seats. Eventually, Abi was driving the tractor solo.
Abi has been helping Steve all year with his 2022 harvest, missing high school events, and even trying to skip a band trip to help Steve with his harvest.
When Steve was in the hospital a year ago, he thought he would never leave the hospital again, never mind farm again. The hard work and dedication his now 17-year-old neighbor has shown him, he says, makes her his superhero.