"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us."

Hey Hey everyone...

I wanted to break the silence before chemo this time rather then after. Josh's is doing great, we actually just got back from a little much needed weekend getaway, and had so much fun...our cheeks hurt from laughing so much! The last two weeks were a little rough, Josh couldn't catch a break from the mouth sores. Now he is feeling pretty good, just getting ready to do all over again on Thursday.

A couple of blogs ago Scott Winks wrote a comment and mentioned Mark Herzlich, me and Josh were watching a special on him a couple of days ago and he really inspired me, so much I felt I needed to share his determination and courage with all of you. In 2008 Herzlich was named the Atlantic Coast Conference defensive player of the year, in 2009 Herzlich was diagnosed with Ewing's sarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer.  Mark was told that they needed to operate  and remove part of his femur, but he opted to do five weeks of radiation instead. After radiation he was taken into surgery and had a titanium rod inserted, to support his femur instead of completely removing the bone. He was told he would never play football or run ever again... Mark said "I respected (the doctors') opinions. But I had the determination to get back and play football," he said. "Even during the worst parts of my chemo and radiation, I always felt I was going to get back." I love that! Faith and determination can get you through anything. Herzlich was pronounced cancer free in September of 2009 and is now expected to go in the third- to fifth-round range in the 2011 NFL draft. Talk about amazing! I can't wait to watch him play, I will be keeping an eye on him, and he definitely has a new fan! Ok I think that's all I have for now, just wanted to share a happy inspirational story...just shows us all that we should NEVER give up! Thank you all for keeping Josh's in your thoughts and prayers, you all are truly the BEST!!!

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/nfl/2011-03-24-mark-herzlich-sw_N.htm

"Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after the other."

Hello everyone! Sorry to have taken so long to write another blog, I have had writers block! And Josh has been doing pretty darn good, so I haven't had much to say. Last weekend he was feeling really good, we were able to celebrate Josh's good friend Cory Peter's wedding, it was so awesome to be with all of our friends, it's so funny how much we take normal everyday things for granted. Josh is going through his third round of the wretched stuff as I type, and he's taking it like champion... as per usual! I get so depressed sitting in here watching and hearing about all the sick people. We are so fortunate that Josh is strong and young, you see some of the people in here and Josh looks like a normal healthy man compared to others. I think its safe to say, that I have learned to be grateful... things could be so much worse. You just gotta roll with the punches, stay positive, and know that everything is in God's hands, the best place to be in good AND bad times.


We had an appointment with Dr. Chen (Josh's oncologist) Tuesday. The chemo is reacting well, all of the of the tumors are shrinking, which is always good news. I wanted to share the before and after numbers of the tumors, but I'm going to have to get back to you all, the test results are at home.


Other than that I don't have much more news to report, he's staying positive and STRONG, I know you guys expect nothing less. We are counting down the days until this is behind us, until then we will continue to battle and persevere. Once again we cannot thank you all enough for all of the prayers, love, and support. XOXOXOXOXOXOXO