Josh Gray

It is hard to believe that it has only been two weeks since we joined the new journey Josh is on. In my wildest dreams I would have never have known or believed that a sixteen year old young man could impact my life, my heart and my faith the way Josh’s life has. His dad and I have talked about this and as I express to him how sorry I am that him, Josh and the family have to experience this unfortunate incident it has had an impact on the lives of so many people. It has brought union, prayer, faith, hope and inspiration to so many other lives. The most remarkable thing to me in this journey is that it hasn’t slowed down. Everyday for Josh seems to be a miracle that must be documented. Josh is in his temporary home at Casa Colina Rehabilitation Center in Ponoma and is adapting and working hard on his recovery. He appears for the most part to be happy and comfortable in his new surroundings. The family seems to be pleased with the staff and the care and treatment that Josh is receiving. The family has printed a number of pictures of Josh and the family and posted them on his wall. This definitely brought a huge smile to his face. Gary spends most of his time at the center and is still spending his nights with Josh. However, the world does tend to move on regardless of the set backs that we as individuals encounter in our lives. This is the same for Gary. It has been necessary for Gary to return to work so that he can maintain the care that Josh is getting as well as survive. He has welcomed getting back to supporting himself and the kids but finds it a little hard and sometimes exhausting to be away from Josh. He does have comfort knowing that him and Melody are working as a team in the care for Josh and when he is not there Melody is going through the daily therapies and keeping Josh company. Visits aren’t just sitting around and talking like it might be with any other patient recovering from an injury. Any and all time spent with Josh is therapy. Continuously working on speech, motor skills and helping him with the basics. Every minute is a therapy session and it is that one more minute that brings Josh closer to recovery and returning home.
Since Josh has arrived he has shown some incredible improvements that definitely give promise to seeing some astonishing results. On Wednesday 6/24/09 Josh was lifting his right leg on his own. This was not a huge movement, only a slight movement up. But it was enough to indicate that there was voluntary movement. Josh has been working and pushing himself very hard in therapy and it is no surprise with his determination that he is already starting to show this type of improvement. During one of his therapy sessions he was working on his walking with a walker. He began to get into a really good rhythm on moving (remember he still needs assistance on moving his right leg). After a few minutes his dad congratulated him on his effort and asked Josh if he wanted to know how far he had gone. Of course Josh answered “yes”. They got a tape measure and discovered he had walked 60 ft. Can I get a “WOW”. Now the therapist did inform them that it was typical to see the leg adapt and show improvement faster then the arm. It is important that while Josh is lying down he be turned from left to right every couple of hours especially during the night. What is remarkable is that the last two nights the nurses have not had to turn Josh. They have reported that Josh is rolling over on his own from side to side. This is not only incredible in progress but a great benefit to Josh in order to help prevent bed sores. Josh still struggles with the speech recovery. This is expected and will most likely take longer then anything else. There is confusion and memory loss to overcome. This type of reprogramming takes time and constant repetitive lessons. Josh can count to ten but again still has difficulty with the alphabet and reading. He is given homework everyday. Gary received some great advice from one of the nurses after one of Josh’s therapy sessions. She told him that he may want to try to get Josh to sing. This will help with memory and speech technique. Gary is always open to anything that might help Josh. So one day Gary brought his guitar and along with Josh and his sister Taylor went out into the garden. They started with Happy Birthday. Josh seems to pick it up quickly and they were able to get through several verses. So Gary started to make a song out of his homework where they sang everything. They started with the days of the week and then moved on to some sentences that Josh needed to work on such as “I want to —– (eat, drink, sleep, etc.). Josh did very well and they all had a good time. The singing could definitely help. Melody has brought the family dog Gizmo and spent time with Josh in the Garden. This definitely brought a smile to Josh’s face and he really seem to enjoy it. The most surprising thing of all that I have heard from Gary was talk of Josh going home. When this was brought up I just happen to ask Gary when do they expect Josh may go home. In my mind I was thinking six or even twelve months. The answer I got was maybe as soon as four to six weeks. Can I say it again, “WOW”.
Josh is scheduled for his heart surgery to repair the hole tomorrow 6/26/09 at 9:30am at CHOC hospital. They plan on keeping Josh overnight just as a precaution.
If you would like to visit Josh at his new home at Casa Colina (255 E Bonita Ave Pomona, CA 91767-1933) the visiting hours are: Mon. – Fri. 4pm to 8pm; Weekends 12 noon to 8pm. I know Josh would love to have people come by. This is a huge part of his success to recovering. Josh does have a phone is his room but we are not yet sure of the number and he has not mastered knowing how to answer the phone.
Thank you again to everyone for your prayers and support. Josh’s story has been so inspiring to me that I share it every chance I get. It never gets old and each time I still get goose bumps and find myself in tears because I feel he has touched me so deeply with his courage and strength. I can definitely feel God holding Josh up and helping him reach down deep inside his soul for the strength that was given to him. What I have learned is that we all have more strength then we ever thought possible and some of us may never find out how much we have if it wasn’t for the challenges we face. I now welcome the challenge because I know my strength and faith will get me through along with the love and support of family and friends.