My Brother, John

My brother, John B. Giesbrecht was born in 1943, the fourth child in the family and the first boy for my parents. My dad was thrilled to have a son at last and wanted to show his love by giving him all that he could. Money was not plentiful, but Johnny got pretty much what he wanted.

For some reason, Johnny had a serious stuttering problem, which started at an early age. This made school difficult for him. I learned later that the kids teased him, which didn't surprise me. His teacher and the school principal tried to help him and set up an appointment with a hypnotist to come to the school. A note was sent home informing my parents of the appointment. My dad did not trust this method of treatment, so he kept Johnny home from school that day. So, life was not easy for Johnny. He graduated from the 8th grade at Winton Grammar School and that was the end of his formal education.

The neighbor boys were his close friends and he had a close relationship with them all his life. They liked to go camping in the mountains, in the higher elevations where they had to pack in by mule or on foot.

At the age of 18, Johnny's brother-in-law taught him how to drive truck. Johnny loved trucks and this would have been a wonderful career for him, but he became addicted to alcohol and gambling. Johnny never married. At times he verbalized his dissatisfaction with his life, but was not willing to give up the gambling or alcohol. He wanted to make a living by gambling and at times he did win big, but of course lost more than he won over time.
On December 23, 2006, Johnny fell (he had been drinking) and broke his neck. This fall caused him to be paralyzed from the neck down. He was able to gain some movement, but not enough to be able to summon help from the nurses if he needed it. Johnny could not breathe on his own and had a Trac and a ventilator, which he depended on continually. Johnny was transferred to Los Angeles County because the hospital in Fresno could not find a bed for him in a Sub-Acute facility closer to home. His big desire was to be moved back to Winton and be closer to family and friends.

Johnny died on February 1, 2008, exactly one year from the date he went to LA county.

Click here to see more pictures of Johnny.