JOSH IS ON HIS ROAD TO RECOVERY!  DOING GREAT AND ALREADY WALKING WITH NO OXYGEN!  UPDATES WILL BE MADE AT A LATER TIME...

June 22, 2010 - Josh has been home for about a week now.  Still making improvements everyday but battling the constant struggles of CF.  Everyday is a challenge with the medications, breathing treatments and effort put into weight gain.  Still waiting for Tucson to give us the call for transplant, but at least he is home with our family.  Morgan and Mallory are so happy to be able to see their Daddy everyday and enjoy spending time with him.  Josh's LAS (Lung Allocation Score) has been moved up and he is still considered high on the transplant list.  Even with all the trials that CF brings, I think the hardest part is just waiting.  Not knowing when the call will come.  Having our bags packed and ready to go on a minutes notice.  I have been off of work for about a month now and I'm trying to go back half days, because Josh still needs help at home. This last month has been one of the most challenging times of my life, but what do I know...I'm not the one actually going through it.  Josh is my hero and I just wish the transplant would come soon.

June 6, 2010 - Josh has been moved from ICU to a regular hospital room.  He is making improvements everyday.  At lease he can see the girls now! Besides wanting to come home, Josh is making strides.  Tucson still has him high on the list so we are just waiting for the phone call that a donor match is available for his transplant.

May 31, 2010 -For those of you who don’t know, Josh was admitted to the hospital about a  week and a half ago.  At first it was the normal routine, of IV antibiotics.  But then things took a turn for the worse.  I received a call from the hospital doctors at midnight the following night that I needed to come back to the hospital because Josh was being sent to ICU.  When I arrived he was breathing so hard and fast and could not catch his breath.  His resting heart rate was 160 and he was about to pass out.  The doctors had no choice but to intubate him.  They were not sure if he was going to make it and ever come off of the breathing machine.  32 hours later, Josh proved the doctors wrong once again.  The past week Josh has made small improvements, but is still in ICU at Good Sam in Phoenix.  As of now the doctors are saying he will probably have to be in the hospital until donor lungs are available.  He has been moved up the list, but still waiting.  I have never been so drained and emotionally challenged.  I can’t say how much I appreciate all the prayers and kind things family and friends have done.  I truly would not have been able to do this without your help and appreciate everything. 

March 22, 2010 -Josh has been home from the hospital for a little over a week now.  He is still on IV's from home doing antibiotics.  He has been moved up the UNOS list for lung transplant because he is in more of a need now.  The doctors will not tell us how close, but hopefully the call will come soon.  I have officially repacked the bags to Tucson! It feels really weird to pack for something not knowing when you will be leaving.  I try not to concern Josh with the small stuff so he doesn't have to worry and he can concentrate on his health.  He has good days and bad days.  I think the hardest part is waiting.  The anxiety that comes along with this is unreal but we are managing as a family and pulling together.  The good thing, is that it really makes you remember what matters and to enjoy what you have.  This weekend we were able to go out to dinner as a family.  It sounds so small, but unfortunately we can't always do this.  It depends on the day and how Josh is feeling.

March 8, 2010 - Well I thought the next trip to the hospital would be for the transplant, but I was wrong.  On March 4, 2010 at about 11:30PM josh could not breath and had to be transported to the hospital.  This time it came on really quick. Josh had not been feeling well for only 2 days.  He almost passed out numerous of times while we waited for help to arrive.  I thought I might have to administer CPR, but thanks goodness I didn't.  I have never had that kind of rush.  Seeing Josh in the past even when he was bad never frightened me, but this time I was truly scared.  Once help arrived he was able to catch his breath with an oxygen bag.  They rushed him to the closest hospital and later transported him to Banner Good Sam in Phoenix early the next morning.  He was admitted to ICU and is still in the hospital.  Hopefully for only a few more days.  He will have to more home IV antibiotics which is becoming more regular.  Back in the day it used to be only once a year, then it progressed to twice a year.  Now it seems like it is more likely than not to be running a course of IV's.  It has only been two months since Josh has been off and now he is starting the whole process again.  Hopefully this will bump his status on the lung transplant list get him a new set of lungs!  It seems like we have been waiting forever.... so keep Josh in your prayers!

January 2, 2010 - It has been a crazy holiday season.  During the week of Thanksgiving Josh had to spend the holidays in the hospital.  He was at Good Sam in ICU for the first 4 days and then moved to a regular room for the rest of the week.  He ended up having 3 different strains of pneumonia and valley fever.  I swear it never seems like we get a break.  He had to do another round of IV antibiotics in the hospital and at home.  Josh was very lucky, because at first they wanted to fly him down to Tucson and wait in the hospital until new lungs became available.  Luckily he got a little bit better and they allowed him to stay in Phoenix.  The reasoning behind this would have been for his safety to travel to Tucson to be able to receive new lungs when they became available.  They didn't want Josh to get to the point where they could not move him and he would be stuck in Phoenix.  Three days before Christmas, Josh was able to stop IV's from home.  So we could actually have a Christmas with no IV medications.  It was great!  Josh for the most part has been feeling a little bit better.  We have been able to get out of the house and see a movie.  First time in about 6 months!!!  He is now doing his regular breathing treatments daily and waiting for the call to come.  Truthfully, I don't know how much longer I can wait, because it has been a long journey.... But he is worth it!

September 9, 2009 - I can't believe how fast time has passed by.  Josh did get his wisdom teeth out and had no problems at all.  He had to get it done in patient in the hospital just to be safe, and things went as good as can be.  Right now we are still playing the waiting game.  Not looking forward to the season changing because in the past this has brought on bad health.  Hopefully this year will be different.

July 23, 2009- Josh has to get his wisdom teeth out.  They are going to schedule this in patient in the hospital to make sure everything is OK with his breathing.  This is a huge blessing because it will now go on our medical insurance instead of dental and will be covered in full.  The transplant team and our regular dentist encourage this because it will decrease the chance of infection , which is always a risk when under going a transplant.

July 11, 2009 - Still playing the waiting game.  Overall, Josh's health for the most part has been pretty good.  Able to get out of the house every once and a while.  Went to the BigSurf fundraiser and couldn't believe how many people came out to support our family.  It was amazing to see everyone.  Someone gave us free tickets to the Diamondbacks game tonight, so we are going to try and take our girls to it.  They don't even know what baseball is, but they are very excited to go.  Can't wait!

June 27, 2009- Today was the Bigsurf Fundraiser and it was a big success.  Tonight was the first time Josh had to go out in a wheelchair.  Even though he was not feeling the best, it really helped to see everyone who came out to Bigsurf.  It was amazing to see the support from the community, family and friends.  Thanks to everyone who came out and had a great time.

May 11, 2009 - Josh had another doctors appt today with the transplant team.  He is finally on the list for lung transplant!!!!  He is doing well and is looking forward to having a new set of lungs and a new chance for life.  What this means, is that any time we could receive a phone call saying there is a new set of lungs for Josh.  Once we get that call we have about 2 hours to get to University Medical Center in Tucson, AZ for the surgery.  We are nervous, excited, anxious all at the same time to think that we will have to drop everything in a moments notice to live in Tucson for 3 months. Besides being nervous and not know when the call will be (days, weeks, months, years...) Josh is happy and looking forward to the day he can run around with Morgan and Mallory again.  We appreciate all your prayers and will keep you updated as things go along.

May 6, 2009 - Josh is finally home from the hospital.  He is doing much better even though it was a scary call.  He is still on IV antibiotics for at least another week, but doing great.  He is so glad to be home and to see Morgan and Mallory.  They were so excited to see him, that they did not want to sleep just so they could sit by him. 

May 1, 2009 - Josh was released from the hospital earlier this week, but had a little scare the next day.  He was rushed to Banner Baywood because he was having trouble breathing.  They were able to get things under control in the ER and admitted Josh into the hospital.  This time it is hard because no kids are allowed with the flu going around.  Morgan and Mallory really miss their daddy.  Hopefully he will be able to come home soon to see his girls and get to feeling better.  Thanks for all the visitors and the help with Morgan and Mallory.  Everyone has made things a little easier.

April 24, 2009 - Josh is currently in the hospital at Good Sam in Phoenix, AZ.  He went in earlier during the week because he was get having tightness in his chest and a hard time breathing.  This is normal with CF patients.  He is currently undergoing IV antibiotics and breathing treatments every 4 hours.  He is already starting to feel better and will probably be in for a week.  He will have to continue IV antibiotics at home for a while, but we will wait to see what the doctors say.  Thanks to everyone who has called, visited and kept our family in your prayers.

February 23, 2009 - We finally got the results of Josh's transplant evaluation.  There is nothing that would prevent him from qualifying to be put on the list!!!  The next step is for Josh to go to pulmonary rehab twice a week for a few months and we meet back with the transplant team in May.  This rehab can be done in Mesa. We are grateful that we will not have to travel to Tucson for this.  Josh's spirits are well and he is looking forward to the upcoming fundraisers to help us save money for our big day. 

January 8, 2009 - We have arrived back home from Tucson from the lung transplant evaluation.  Josh did a great job and had such a good attitude through out the whole thing.  He continued to push, when his body wanted to give up.  We do not get the results for a few weeks.  Josh did such a good job, and I'm so proud of him.

January 5, 2009 - Josh will be going to University Medical Center in Tucson, AZ for his week long evaluation.  He will be staying in patient in the hospital and the rest of the family will be staying in Tucson to help him get through this long week of testing.