
Joshua's Story
Settle in. It's story time.
There once was a brave, little boy. He had creamy skin and chocolate brown eyes that were bigger than bowling balls. When he was three, he became the only toddler I knew who loved radishes. He was kind. He was good. As he grew older, he had his own secret recipe of mashed potatoes. His favorite thing to do was make food and serve people in need. He was the best.
When Josh was 11, he was diagnosed with a very rare form of liver cancer. From the end of December to the end of February, his football-sized tumor grew to 40 pounds; taking his entire abdomen captive. He was so brave! And funny! He would charge people a quarter when they came to see him in the hospital. And trust: you couldn't enter his room without paying the toll! Instead of keeping all the money, he would go to the vending machines and buy candy, chips and soda for all the kids in the unit.
He loved making origami frogs. When he was in the ICU, all his school mates made hundreds of little frogs! The day he had surgery to debulk the tumor was on February 29th. Leap day. All over the hospital that day were frogs. Frog murals, frog stuffed animals, frog statues, frogs everywhere! They quickly became his favorite. And the acronym for FROG (Fully Rely On God) because his mantra.
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I have gobs of stories I could share. About his kindness. About his love. About his Faith. He. was. the. best!
Eight months after his diagnosis, he breathed his last breath here and his first in heaven. We ache with loss. It will be 16 years on Monday since he passed. The day after his Memorial Service, my sister (his mom), was diagnosed with breast cancer. I know where Josh got his warrior strength from. She is a fighter!
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