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Joshua and good friend, Sam Fagone, on Diamond Lake!
Joshua was diagnosed with Ewings Sarcoma in his C-6 neck vertebra when he was 4 years old in October 2004. He endured 14 rounds of chemotherapy and 31 proton radiation treatments as per the national protocol for Ewings. The tumor was in-operable. With the tumor gone after 4 rounds of chemo, his vertebra was near collapse, but is "currently stable" "at this time" according to his doctors. The radiation damaged his throat, airway and thyroid. Therefore; parts of his nutritional needs are met through a g-tube. After numerous frequent esophageal dilations (33 total) for three years in order to keep his throat open, he now only has them on a "as needed" basis. He eats entirely by mouth! He has a temporary tracheostomy, which we tried to remove on 6-17-08, but were unsuccessful. After 3 tracheal dilations and scar tissue removal, he was able to have his trach tube removed on October 6th, 2008! However; we discovered his vocal chords are damaged as well, which has made his breathing at night questionable. His sleep study showed "24 obstructive apnea episodes" and "4 obstructive hypopnea episodes". We are praying about where to go from here. Sadly we had to put his tracheotomy tube back in on January 26th, 2009. He takes medication for hypothyroidism. We have had 3 post treatment cancer "scares", but all his post treatment scans have proven to be cANCER FREE!
We thank our Savior, Jesus Christ, for His faithfulness during this difficult journey
Joshua is loved by his parents, Don and April, and his 4 older sisters: Jasmine, Joy, Jubilee and Jordyn. Thank you for your love, support and unending prayers!
CHASING DAYLIGHT by Erwin Raphael McManus
"The certainty that God has called you and the confidence that he will work his victory out in your life are not guarantees of a safe and secure journey."
Journal
Saturday, July 4, 2009 3:46 PM CDT Dear Ones,
HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!
America is a great country and I¡¦m so thankful I was born here! I hope you are all having a wonderful fourth. Our weather here is beautiful¡Kin the 90¡¦s which is unusual for this area. I remember so many rainy fourth of Julys!
We are all doing well. Joshua chose NOT to go to Camp Millennium kind of at the last minute. He kept telling me how he wanted to go to Kaleidoscope¡Ka kid¡¦s drama camp run by our Drama Pastor, Terry Lomax at Rolling Hills. I listened to my boy after he told me this over and over again. I finally realized this is what he wanted. Afterward, I was well pleased and amazed at how God works. A number of good things happened by this last minute change.
First of all, Josh was really challenged, pushed and had high expectations put on him by Pastor Terry at Kaleidoscope. Jordyn was a camp counselor and explained to me that this was really what Josh needed. ¡§Mom, Josh hasn¡¦t been pushed before. This is good for him. This is what he needs.¡¨ As I contemplated her words, after asking her about camp, because Josh had said, ¡§Mom, Pastor Terry expects so much from us!¡¨ I realized how true the words of my 15 year old were. Josh hasn¡¦t been pushed¡Khe¡¦s been sick and treated, rightly so, as a sick kid. Camp Millennium, I¡¦m sure, is a wonderful camp for kids dealing with cancer, but they are super heroes just because they¡¦ve been sick. Don¡¦t get me wrong¡KI think ALL of these wonderful outreaches for kids with life threatening diseases are WONDERFUL and much NEEDED and very BENEFICIAL. But I need my son to grow up with high character. I want him to grow to be a man, focused on others and not the self. A high calling for all of us¡Kputting self aside for others. So Josh grew in character in this drama camp. He was stretched and pushed and the end result was a fun production on the last night! As I watched him up there singing, saying his lines, I marveled at how he was being treated as a ¡§normal¡¨ kid even though he has a trach. I thought about all he¡¦s been through and it really warmed my heart.
A second benefit was Josh making a new friend: singer, song writer and film maker Sam Martin. Sam was a part of the camp and he and Josh hit it off. Check out Sam¡¦s website: www.sammartinmusic.com He is a very loving, generous and talented young man. His songs will be on iTunes soon and one of them is playing on the radio as of July 3rd! Sam graciously offered the proceeds from the sale of his CD to go into Josh¡¦s medical fund! This was a total surprise to us. Josh has written him and invited him to stay a night in his House in the Trees. I hope he can visit this summer.
A third benefit was that Joshie was able to join his daddy and all the other Brenneman men on their annual summer fishing trip. This was Josh¡¦s first time to be included. If he had gone to Camp Millennium he would not have been able to go. They stayed in Sam Fagone¡¦s cabin (an old family friend) on Diamond Lake. Sam purposely made sure he had a ¡§safe, stable¡¨ boat for Josh to fish from, because of Josh being trached. When I heard this, I cried. I know¡K I¡¦m such a wimp. Josh came home exhausted, covered with mosquito bites, smiling and proudly showed us his fish. We ate them for dinner the next night.
The fourth benefit was Josh stayed with the Cook family for part of the time he was at Kaleidoscope and learned what it¡¦s like to live in a ¡§strict¡¨ home! HA! Don and I spent a few days in Sisters, OR with another couple, so Josh stayed with his friend Jonathan Cook. Josh followed his buddy around helping him with chores, went to bed early, had quiet reading time, and helped with younger siblings¡Kall of which Josh isn¡¦t used to! Again another character building time for Josh. We are so grateful for the Cook family. By the way, Josh has chores now! ƒº Thanks Julie!
As soon as Don and Joshie returned from their fishing trip I drove south to climb Mt. Shasta with my baby brother, Tim. This was a highlight for me. I cried when I reached the summit thinking about Gage Dole, Lesly Foster, Joshie and Jackson Hill and Amanda King. I thought of all the kids I have known dealing with cancer. It was very emotional for me and hard to put into words. Yep, I¡¦m officially a wimp! If you are my facebook friend you can read my account of our trip in my notes. I don¡¦t want to add it here, because it¡¦s too much to post and not about Josh. If you aren¡¦t on FB and would like to read about it please email me privately. (I did add one picture of myself on the summit.)
The rest of our summer is full with a trip to Leavenworth, another climb for me (up Mt. Adams), Camp Agape Family Camp, and RHCC high school camp for the girls, Josh¡¦s 4 year post treatment scans, Joy leaving for her Europe semester and hopefully much more! I thank God for His many blessings¡K
Please pray for Lesly Foster, Gage Dole, Macey King and Spencer Hardy¡K kids who are in a very tough place right now.
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