Early in their marriage, Jennie and Shane Swenson drove past Crescent Cove regularly. The house sat tucked behind a tree-lined driveway in Brooklyn Center, and Shane, curious, looked it up online.
It was a home for children with life-limiting conditions.
He kept driving.
"We had no idea that one day we would be one of those families who need Crescent Cove," he says.
That was before Brady.
Jennie and Shane have two sons, Jakob and Brady. Jakob was diagnosed with autism at a young age, and his parents devoted themselves to getting him the support he needed. Brady, meanwhile, was a typical 12-year-old — active, kind, full of life. Basketball, bike rides, swimming, books, and friends. And more than anything, he was Jakob's person.
"He was the best friend and protector to his older brother," says Jennie. "He was funny, loving, caring, silly, curious, and smart."
On the morning of Tuesday, February 5, 2019, their lives changed forever.
It began like any other school day. Brady had breakfast with Jakob, helped him pack his lunch, and said goodbye as Jakob boarded the bus to Armstrong High School. Minutes later, while Shane was driving Brady to school, they got into a car accident.
Brady was rushed to North Memorial Hospital, where he spent three weeks in the ICU. Five months at Gillette Children's Hospital for rehabilitation. Thirteen surgical procedures over two and a half years.
Today, Brady experiences seizures, is wheelchair dependent, and faces complex neurological challenges. Jennie left her career to become his full-time caregiver.
"There is no greater job on earth, I wholeheartedly assure you," she says.
And she means it.
The family eventually moved to Maple Grove to better accommodate Brady's needs. Their community rallied around them — Sacred Heart Catholic School in Robbinsdale, their church, neighbors, friends. It was through that network that someone suggested Crescent Cove for respite care.
Shane thought back to the house on Bass Lake Road. The one he'd always thought looked sad.
He made the call.
"From the moment we walked in, we could feel the warmth and love of Crescent Cove," recalls Jennie. "Even though I was nervous about someone else caring for Brady, I knew that he would be in the greatest of hands there."
Brady had his first stay in 2023. Now he visits several times a year — enjoying art, massage therapy, pet therapy, and being read to by volunteers — while his parents and Jakob get the chance to travel and recharge.
"We finally have a break from the appointments and daily cares when Brady's at Crescent Cove," says Jennie. "What kid wouldn't love a getaway like that?"
Crescent Cove exists because of one woman who saw something in Australia that didn't exist in Minnesota. Katie Lindenfelser, a music therapist, trained at Very Special Kids in Melbourne — a children's hospice home full of, as she describes it, compassion and joy.
"My husband asked me why I didn't do my residency at a children's hospice home in the U.S., and I told him there were only two, and none in Minnesota," Katie says. "He said, 'well, let's build one.'"
It took nine years. When Crescent Cove opened in 2018, it was only the third of its kind in the country — and the only one in the Midwest. Health insurance doesn't cover pediatric hospice or respite care, so donors make it possible for families like the Swensons to receive these services at no cost. Since opening, Crescent Cove has served more than 440 families.
"We are eternally grateful to every person who makes Crescent Cove a possibility for families like ours," says Jennie. "What an amazing gift it has been for our family."
The house on Bass Lake Road isn't sad at all.
Support Crescent Cove at the 3rd Annual Pickleball Social, co-hosted by Maple Grove City Lifestyle and Kevin Walsh & Team from Keller Williams Classic Realty Northwest, Sunday, August 16 at Pints & Paddle in Maple Grove. crescentcove.org/pickleballsocial
The Brady Swenson Lucky 13 Tournament — an annual golf event benefiting Sacred Heart Catholic School and Crescent Cove — takes place October 10 at Pheasant Acres Golf Course in Rogers. brady-swenson-lucky-13-tournament.perfectgolfevent.com
"We had no idea that one day we would be one of those families." — Shane Swenson
"From the moment we walked in, we could feel the warmth and love of Crescent Cove. Even though I was nervous about someone else caring for Brady, I knew he would be in the greatest of hands." Jennie Swenson