His family wondered what it would take to keep the public interested in his case as he worked in a Russian prison labor camp.
When he was arrested and charged with espionage in December of last year, and when he went to trial 18 months later, and when the U.S. government said he had been wrongly imprisoned, the media would focus on that.
The case of another American who was arrested and held in Russia in February, was brought to the attention of the public. There was a sudden increase in the name of Paul Whelan.
Brittney's supporters have called for Paul's release as well. David Whelan, Paul's twin brother, says that more people are aware of Paul's case because of the generosity. Those who knew Paul's case before and those who know it now have very little in common.
There are rumors that the U.S. government might negotiate a deal that brings them together.
David and his sister Elizabeth say they don't think that will happen, but they are prepared for the possibility that he might return before he does. Almost no one knows what's going on behind the scenes until one of them is on a plane.
People say it's going to be Brittney and Paul. The chances of us getting it wrong is very high.
They say the 42 months since Paul was arrested have taught them an important lesson about what a family can and can't do.
"You're living until your loved one is home," Elizabeth says. There is nothing that can escape it. A situation like this can take over a family's entire life.
She was in the news this week when she said she was angry that the president and vice president called the wife of a man and that Biden responded to her letter with a letter of his own.
The White House said that President Biden called her to assure her that he was committed to getting Paul home after she spoke with her. Everyone thinks that getting an audience with the president of the United States is the only way to get a loved one home.
It's crazy. It isn't feasible. She said he couldn't see 55 families. If he met all of them at the same time, what would happen to other Americans?
The parents of a man who was in a Russian prison for more than two years have been pushing for a meeting with Biden. Reed was sent home in a prisoner swap after his parents met him.
It's not related to the Reed and Griner families. "I don't begrudge any of their access at all." I want for Paul what everyone gets and I don't feel like I'm being denied it.
They protested, they got their meeting, and their loved one came home, as if there's a formula. Every branch of the government has people trying to bring people home. Most of that is done behind the scenes.
Several U.S. State Department sources went to great lengths to point out that Reed had been badly injured in an accident and had been treated for Tuberculosis before he was released. The Reeds' visit with Biden had nothing to do with his release, according to officials. His supporters don't agree.
The push from some families to speak with the White House puts the focus on the wrong places.
The focus should be on the fact that Russians are holding Americans hostage. We tend to shoot our ire towards the White House and the Congress, whoever we can aim our ire at, and not the Kremlin. They have held Paul for three and a half years.
Jake Sullivan, the national security advisor, called Elizabeth on Thursday after she criticized the Biden phone call. She said it put her at ease that she wouldn't give any details of their call.
She says that he was reassuring that efforts on Paul's behalf had not fallen to the wayside despite the call and letter. You could empathise with how a family feels. I don't mean just my family. What are the opinions of the people in Venezuela? There are people in China. The president is trying to be helpful.
Families have a human instinct to do as much as they can, even pushing to meet the president, rather than waiting and trusting government officials to care as much as they do, according to the Whelans.
Some of them feel like they need to do something.
Americans don't understand how complex these negotiations can be.
She says that in America, each side has something they want and the other side has something they don't. When someone is holding someone hostage, they are doing it to get what they want. They're asking for someone who is a major criminal or a policy that is beyond the pale.
There are things going on that nobody knows about. Families feel like they have to approach the president because they don't know enough about what is happening. We don't need to know the details in some cases, but officials can share more.
Elizabeth says she's grateful for the attention the issue has received. Every day this week, the White House was asked about her case, and the administration is committed to getting her back.
It's great to see families taking a public stand and raising awareness. She says it helps everyone. People can ask about the other people being held. Any attention to a loved one is helpful and we don't think badly of what other family does.
Elizabeth says she sent Cherelle a couple of emails to support her, and that she and Cherelle spoke briefly at an event. Regardless of the families' different approaches, the Whelans understand her pain.
He thinks that her experience has been more difficult than other families'. She needs to do it in a way that no one else has done before.
Increased attention to Paul's case has reassured the Whelans that they don't want him to be forgotten. David says that the swell of attention isn't the same as progress.
He doesn't know what impact it has on the State Department staff and people like that.
David Whelan doesn't think a deal will be made to bring them home together.
For the most part, he thinks the solutions may be different. Paul's espionage charge is more serious than a drugs charge according to the Russia media. Russians look at things in a way that's proportional. They may be willing to release someone with a shorter sentence than someone with a longer one.
They caution against the idea that diplomats are dealing with a single entity when negotiating with Russia. The State Department's Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs and former U.S. ambassador to the UN Bill Richardson are both on the U.S. side. On the Russian side, you could be dealing with someone from the Kremlin or one of the government ministries. The Russians are not likely to negotiate the return of Whelan.
Both of them say they need to be patient with Paul.
I'm prepared for Paul to be there for a long time. There is a chance that Paul would be left behind a second time. David says it may be further. It's difficult to explain that to my parents.
If the light comes and goes with her return and not Paul's, at least there are more people who are aware that Paul is there and will continue to advocate for his.
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