Josh Gray

I feel as though I have been invited to experience something so incredible and miraculous. It’s as if Josh’s journey is a gift of hope, strength and faith to all of us. I feel honored to be able to share with all you a day that we all thought wouldn’t be discussed for weeks maybe months or years from now.

Today, Wednesday 6/17 has proven to be an exhausting but successful day far beyond anyone’s expectations.  It started with occupational therapy.  The process began with getting Josh out of bed and into a wheelchair.  He was guided on how to get one foot out of bed and then the other and then getting himself out of bed.  This was therapy not only for Josh but the family as well because it required them to learn the process and assist with teaching and helping Josh.  He was then taken to the rehabilitation gym in the basement where they worked on upper body maneuvers.  Training the brain on receiving what the right side was doing.  This included moving a basketball from left to right and up and down.  Also showing him how to use the left hand to guide and help the right hand.  Therapy requires everyone’s participation and will become the responsibility of everyone as Josh grows, learns and moves on.

Josh returned to his room and had a short break prior to having his speech therapy.  During this session they worked on swallowing and eating solid foods.  This included eating a breakfast that consisted of egg mcmuffin, French toast, OJ and Gatorade.  The therapist feels Josh did so well with breakfast they felt comfortable having him try lunch. He did so well it was determined to have his feeding tube removed.  But wait the incredible accomplishments do not end here, there is more and it is mouth dropping. 

Shortly afterwards it was time for physical therapy.  This revolved around leg strengthening, learning to use the parallel bars.  Josh was able to make a couple of trips on the bars.  This was about teaching the right side of the brain what to do with the entire body.  It was very exhausting and Josh was asked several times if he wanted to continue and he enthusiastically responded with a “yes”.

I bet you thought the day would be slowing down and allowing not only Josh but the family to take a rest.  Well you are going to be surprised.  It was time for speech therapy again.  This time is was suppose to be about teaching Josh to communicate.  Mostly by pointing to pictures, using hand gestures, etc.  Suddenly just as the therapy began Josh decided this was going to take too long and he decided to fast forward the process.  He spoke; mom and dad heard his voice for the first time in a week.  Can you imagine the tears and the joy of this incredible accomplishment?  Can you guess what his first word was —- Lakers.  The speech therapist was surprised and didn’t want to slow his motivation down so it was decided to move forward in another direction.  They started him counting.  First “one” then “two”, Josh counted to ten.  Ok, lets keep it going now lets try the alphabet.  First, “a”, then “b”, but the success wasn’t as great as the first.  There was some confusion with letters and numbers and what he was thinking he was hearing.

As Gary told me this story I had no idea how I was going to express what he and Melody were feeling during this process.  I don’t think there are words to tell you what a magnificent accomplishment this is. 

I truly believe that the strength and support Josh has had at his bed side from his incredible parents has allowed Josh to absorb and apply the strength.  As a parent I can only imagine how proud and grateful they are to have been blessed with such a strong and confident young man.  As his dad said to me, Josh is so full of confidence right now and as long as he maintains that confidence there is nothing he can’t do.  That confidence has allowed him to go from just learning the basics to attending the advance class.  How courageous this young man and family are during this time.  It is from prayers, love and support that miracles truly do come from.  Thank you Josh for giving me something I didn’t know I had “Faith”.  What an angel you are.  Love ya.

It is a pleasure and honor to take you along Josh’s journey of recovery. Every visit received to this site or in person is strength passed on to Josh and the family. The road will be long and it is not taken lightly that it is going to present obstacles that sometimes may appear impossible to concur. That is where your prayers, love and support will make those obstacles crumble and the athlete and fighter we all know Josh to be will take on the challenge of any and all obstacles. Like any sports season there is a beginning a middle, playoffs and championships. The glory will be to have all of us by Josh’s side cheering and supporting him during his entire journey and holding him high above our shoulders like a champion. Every day will be a different experience, some good, some bad, some better and some worse. Regardless of the experience we will take all of you on the journey.  At times the information may be medically descriptive depending on the author and other times it may be simple but detailed.

Josh has been recruited to a new life a new beginning and it is expected that his new beginning start as soon as possible. Even though this may seem overwhelming to him and the family it is necessary for his recovery.  The rehabilitation has begun and there is no slowing down or stopping from this point forward. The most important thing for Josh and the family is a positive attitude and to appreciate and cherish every day’s accomplishments and failures. They are what we learn from and what gives us the ability to move forward to another day and to face different failures but more importantly to make new accomplishments. As we all know Josh has God by his side giving him love and strength to accept and conquer this new journey in his life. Knowing he is walking the path with him gives hope and faith that in no time we will be witness to an incredible journey with a miraculous conclusion.  We invite all of you to take this journey with Josh and to share your love and strength with him.  He loves you all and I for one feel blessed to know Josh and his family and am grateful for the joy and love they have brought to my life.

This is the latest on Josh’s condition from the last couple of days.  To start the exciting news Josh has been moved out of I.C.U.  This is a great thing but as the family is learning the care is definitely different then I.C.U.  Unfortunately, Gary found Josh wet this morning when he arrived and found that the staff neglected to change Josh since last night at 10pm when Gary did it last.  This has been addressed and hopefully we will not have to hear of this again.

On Monday 6/15, Josh had another MRI in which he had to be sedated. The procedure took about 45 mins. and 30 mins in recovery. The MRI revealed some swelling but it was at a standard level and the doctor was not concerned. There were signs of bleeding but this also was to be expected and not a concern. Normally a second MRI would not be ordered in this case but because of Josh’s age another one was done to confirm the brain was doing what it needed to do & everything was what they expected it to be.

On Tuesday 6/16, Josh had some extensive therapy and was awake much longer then he has been in the last couple of days. Some of the accomplishments in this day was he drank Gatorade from a cup taking it to his lips as well as sipping it from a straw. He ate chocolate ice cream; it was softened first and spooned for him and then he feed himself. This did cause a little bit of a brain freeze. He also ate Rice Crisps cereal; he spooned it himself and brought it to his mouth. All these things were done using his left hand. He also stood up out of bed with assistance. He was given a walker in which he used his left hand to hold. He took several steps. This was a team effort. He would move the walker with his left hand, he would then move his left foot and someone would then move his right foot for him. During the day as well as during his therapy, Josh is asked the level of his pain. A chart showing a pain scale is in his room as a reference point for him. Because of Josh’s condition his muscles get tense and tight. It requires them to be stretched and massaged 3 times a day. This is done by the family as well as the nurses. Good news is that there is discussion of maybe putting Josh in a wheel chair. The family is very excited about this but still not sure how close that goal is.  Update: shortly after writing that last sentence I was informed today Wednesday 6/17 that Josh has been in a wheelchair and going back and forth to the rehabilitation gym several times today and the family is very pleased and excited about moving forward. There will be more on this once we have checked in with the family.

The family is very pleased with the Ronald McDonald house. They would again like to extend their thanks to everyone who is visiting the website, visiting them in the hospital and sending their thoughts, prayers and love.