IntroMessage, The Jochim Family! This photo was taken in October 2007. We are from left to right: John (11), Mark, Josh (12), Sara (9), Isaac (2 1/2), Steph, Grace (6) and Sophia (10 months).
Welcome to Josh's Web Page. It has been provided to keep family and friends updated on Josh's journey.
Josh’s journey with cancer began when he was 8 years old. He fell at school one day and hurt his back. By the weekend he was in so much pain that he could hardly walk. We spent the next month going back and forth to the clinic and hospital. We were told everything from “it’s just a virus” to “kids are tough, he will get better soon” to “the pain is in his head and he is just scared that he will get hurt again” to “maybe it’s a blood infection” to finally on 11-10-03 “I’m sorry, Mrs. Jochim, but Joshua has leukemia”. Those words are words that no parent should ever have to hear. We took Josh to the Mayo clinic and stayed there for the first 34 days of his treatment. We then returned home to continue his 38 months of chemotherapy treatment at MedCenter One in Bismarck under the care of Dr. Serabe and her staff. Josh had his ups and downs during his treatment but for the most part he did very well. He started Maintenance Therapy in July of 2004. Josh finished his chemotherapy treatment on 1-9-07 when he received his last spinal tap and bone marrow biopsy. On 2-8-07 Josh had surgery to remove his port-a-cath. Another day that changed our lives forever. We are learning to be "normal" again after 3 years and 2 months! No more pills to remember every night!! No more spinal taps!!
We had an Off Treatment Party for our family on 2-24-07. At the party we had a jar filled with 3,846 M&M's to represent the number of pills that Josh took during his treatment. We also had 10 red balloons to represent the 10 bone marrow aspirations he had and 20 white balloons to represent the 20 spinal taps he had. It was a joyous day and even with the terrible North Dakota weather so many of our family and friends were able to come and celebrate the day with us. Having our son diagnosed with cancer was the worst day of our lives BUT without it we wouldn't have known how blessed we really are. We do ask that you continue to pray for Josh and the rest of our family so that the beast stays at bay and also to pray for all of the children fighting for their lives and for those who have won the battle and are flying high in Heaven and are finally pain free.
Some interesting statistics: **46 children in the United States are diagnosed with cancer every single day!
**One in 330 children will develop cancer by the tender age of 20!
**35% of these children will die even with todays great cure rates!
**Cancer is the number one disease killer among children; more than genetic anomalies, cystic fibrosis and AIDS combined!
"Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." Joshua1:9b
"Sometimes God calms the storm and Sometimes He lets the storm rage and calms his child."
Today, 4-24-04, I have gone back and entered Josh's entire journey as it happened. I had to add it on top of what I have all ready entered so please bear with this mess!!
The Littlest Soldiers By Cheryl Jagannathan The medals on our chests Are broviacs for meds Helmets won't stay on Cause no hair is on our heads.
Our weapons of destruction We take every day We fight the battle within us While we struggle on to play.
We fight with honor and courage No marine could do as well We are only children Living in this hell.
So bring on the metals The purple hearts of war The gold cross, the silver star To place upon our scars.
For we are the children of cancer No one has fought so hard but every day we struggle on Our life is our Reward!
"What Cancer Cannot Do"
Cancer is so limited... It cannot cripple Love It cannot shatter Hope It cannot corrode Faith It cannot destroy Peace It cannot kill Friendship It cannot suppress Memories It cannot silence Courage It cannot invade the Soul It cannot steal eternal Life It cannot conquer the Spirit If this disease has invaded your life, refuse to let it touch your spirit. Your body can be severely afflicted and you may have a great struggle. If you keep trusting God's love, your spirit will remain strong. Why must I bear this pain? I cannot tell, I only know my Lord does all things well. And so I trust in God, my all in all, For He will bring me through, whate'er befall. Annonymous
Josh received his Make A Wish on July 2, 2004 to read about it click on past journal enteries and scroll down to July 2.
I attempted to give Joshua a “buzz” cut last night and broke the clippers! How ironic is that? Just a few years ago he was losing his hair yet again and now I’m breaking clippers trying to get through his mop! His hair is CRAZY! It’s sooooo thick on top. Luckily Mark got home in time to try to fix the clipper so he didn’t have to look like we used a lawn mower on his head! It’s still not THE best haircut but I’ll fix it when I get to Bismarck to get another clipper! It’s good enough that he can go out in public!
I, of course, was VERY frustrated because nothing seems to be simple at our house anymore. But when I was reminded how blessed we are to have him here with us to have this mess I was better.
He’s having the summer of his life! He’s up early and gone late and working side by side with his dad, his papa and his uncle. This is what life is all about to Joshua and we are blessed that he is here to do it.
He’s growing up FAST! I can not believe he’s going to be a FRESHMAN in the fall. I’m all ready crying thinking about graduation! He continues to amaze me…just the other day I was going to scrub the kitchen floor – and that is a JOB. He said “Mom, can I help you with that?” I just about fell over because he hates cleaning. But we did it together and laughed and visited the whole time – it was not such a JOB with him! Oh, don’t get me wrong, he is STILL a super stink sometimes. But you can tell he’s growing up and thinking of others beside himself at times. Another thing that amazes me is his need for time with Isaac and Sophia. He misses them when he’s gone all day. If Sophia is sleeping when he gets home he goes in and kisses her goodnight. And Isaac usually waits for him to get home so they can chat about how their day went.
We are all good – summer is going waaay too fast! Before we know it we’ll be back in school –ugggg. Sara and Grace are done with swimming lessons and summer school. So now *ALL* we have to do is get ready for the Fair and enjoy the hot summer days. We have several projects that need to be finished up. I think we’ll need to spend a day and lots of $ at Hobby Lobby in the near future!
John is doing a good job babysitting Isaac and Sophia! It’s going much better than I thought it would go. He’s not good at keeping the house clean but the kids are clean and fed and napped when I get home. The other day he called me at work and asked how to make play dough because they were going to make a volcano!!! He’s teaching them a lot of fun stuff!
Have a wonderful 4th of July – be safe! Thanks for taking the time to check in on us. I’m not good about updating this much anymore but we continue to be thankful for all of the blessings in our lives – Josh’s successfully journey with cancer and all of the wonderful family and friends that continue to pray for us – that’s YOU if you are reading this!!! We certainly wouldn’t have made it this far without each and every one of you. Please continue to pray for all of the little ones that are fighting this battle. HUGS!
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