Wanna help make a child smile?

[bcjjhh]

if you do then please stop by this site www.makeachildsmile.org they feature 3 children each month, ones who are terminally and critically ill. All they ask is that you send a card or two to them. And while you are there don't forget to check out the previous featured children, as they can still use the smiles too.

What I do? I have been writing to these children for over 2 years now. I send cards or letters to each featured child and send out birthday cards for each one that is celebrating this month. I persoanlly have 6 children that I write to weekly, and send little gifts to when I have some extra money.

It is great! the children are very happy and it does worlds of good for them. Why not give it a try.

I would like to ask for help in keeping this bumped up as it is an important thing for these children. Go the www.makeachildsmile.org and look around, sign up for the updates on particular years, it is really great to know that you helped a child smile.

Thanks for any and all help you can give to these little one!

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[1busymomma]

Great site! I bookmarked it so that I do this and even get the kids involved!

[bcjjhh]

bump back up!

[Fred12]

When I clicked on the link and saw the kids featured this month I couldn't help but cry. What a great site this is thank you for posting it.

[bcjjhh]

sure thing Fred and here are some of the updates I have received today.

Austin W. - September/02 Kid

Hi all and first let me say thanks to all who still send my boy mail.
He got lots of cards for his birthday. He had been feeling a little
sick a few days before his b-day. Then on the big day, he was feeling
good. We went to the water park and he had a great time. Until he got
to feeling bad again. We had blood work done and the day after his
birthday, we were at the hospital. This time they drained the cyst in his
liver and during another CT scan, they found several other small cysts.
His dr seems to think this is leading up to a transplant somewhat
sooner than we had hoped. He has been sent home on IV antibiotics again,
and we have to watch him. If he gets sick again very soon, we will be
referred to Houston for an evaluation to see if he needs transplanted.
Please keep him in your prayers. Thanks.

Becky (Austin's mom)

[bcjjhh]

Kaelei M. - April/02 Kid

I apologize for the lack of updates on Kaelei. We no longer have
internet service at home and I haven't been able to get to the library
to post very often.

Kaelei just had an MRI last week. It showed that there only seems to be
a scar where the tumor was!! This was the most excellent news and we
are obviously VERY happy. She will continue to have MRI's every other
month. Her next will be Aug. 5th.

She is having a wonderful summer so far. We have been over to her
Nana's to go swimming a few times and tonight (Friday) she and Holli and my
2 nephews are going to go spend the night at Nana and PawPaw's. They
are so excited.

Hopefully we will have a summer filled with fun and laughter. I think
we
all deserve it.

Will post more as soon as I can.
As always thank you so much for your thoughts and prayers.

Jennifer (Kaelei's mom)

[bcjjhh]

Ricky K. - June/00 Kid

Just a quick update on Ricky he is doing well and catching up with all
the school he missed this winter with a home tutor this summer he will
move on to third grade in the fall We just got started the 5th Harry
Potter book and that consumes most of his time asking me to read to him
Ha Ha that and watching that crazy wrestling!! summer is always a
welcome break from all the colds and germs of winter time!! God Bless all
of you Heather

Heather (Ricky's mom)

[Fred12]

This is something more people should get involved with.

[sheasherry]

bump up

[Ashlee]

Than u so much 4 sharing this link! I am definitely going to get in on this!! Let's keep this bumped 4 sure!

[bcjjhh]

here are the featured kiddos for July

Name: Joshua
Age: 13 years old
Date of Birth: November 1st, 1989
Main Diagnosis: Becker's Muscular Dystrophy

Mom: Janet
Dad: Donald

Mailing Address:
Joshua M.
P.O. Box 405
Lafayette, GA
30728 - U.S.A.

Joshua's Story
written by mom Janet

Josh was born in November. He weighed only 5 lbs, but had a head full of hair. He is our special Angel from Heaven GOD gave us!

Josh started walking when he was 8 months. When he turned 2 yrs old, his dad and I noticed he walked with his upper body swaying back and forth. We took him to many doctors. They told us he had growing pains and childhood arthritis. His legs would hurt him. When he turned 6 we saw that he couldn't keep up and didn't have balance. When he threw a ball he would fall back and hurt himself. He would get tired easily and didn't have strength to get to the mail box. The doctors kept telling me I was just a worried mom and that he would grow out of it. He got worse and was struggling to run and play, it would brake my heart to hear kids and adults talk and make fun of him. He couldn't even go across the monkey bars! We carried him around. He would fall a lot and couldn't get up without help. I took him to many doctors, test after test and nothing.

Finally the children's doctors got a new doctor in their office, he was from China, Josh was hurting bad one day screaming and nothing helped. So I took him in to this new doctor, he watched Josh walk, sit on the floor and couldn't get up. He said we needed blood tests and that he was pretty sure of what it was. But wouldn't tell me until 2 weeks when the blood work came back, he didn't want us to worry. I Prayed hard those 2 weeks it was awful. Trying to think what it could be, praying it wasn't this or that!

The test was back... when you are healthy your blood count is from 100 to 200 but not over. Josh's blood count was 6000, I almost passed out, Donald's and my heart were just being ripped out, he still didn't give us much information, only that it was Muscular Dystrophy, He sent us to the MDA Clinic where he was looked at and more blood tests were done. Heart specialists, physical therapists ,neurologists, There was more than 12 doctors looking at him that day! I'll never forget what the heart specialists said to us, "Your son has a form of MD this is very bad we have NO cure for this, they suffer and die." He said "choosing between cancer and what your son has I would much rather he had cancer!"

We were in shock, and still are, we haven't had time to grieve or anything. The MDA sent Josh for a muscle biopsy to see what kind he had ,they took a piece of muscle from his leg and sent it to a big hospital in Nashville TN. Several weeks later it came back. They called us in to tell us the results. The doctors lined up around the wall and told us it was Becker's Muscular Dystrophy. This means your muscles have to have dystrophin in them to keep working or they get damaged over time and you get weaker and weaker. Josh had very little dystrophin in his muscles so his muscles will get weaker over time, there is nothing anyone can do, but give pain medication, physical therapy 2 to 4 times a day according to the pain he has.

Joshua had a stroke at the end of last year and now has grandmal seizures. He takes 2 seizures pills a day and pain medication, along with bottles of Motrin, He is slowly getting weaker, it will tear your heart out. He can't keep up with other children and now has trouble getting up steps, He can't open car doors, he can only walk for short periods at a time. He has a motorized wheel chair, but we call it a scooter or he will not sit in it.

Josh now needs braces on his legs. He has good and bad days, but this little Angel of mine is so strong hearted and hardly complains. I can see the hurt in his eyes when he wants so bad to do things or watches in his chair other kids doing things he loves to do and can't. He loves John Wayne or anything western. Josh will not stay with anyone, his muscles in his throat get weak and hard for him to chew and after the stroke he won't go far from his dad and me, so we always have a house full of kids, church, friends, cousins, etc... boys everywhere to play with! He loves to wrestle in the floor with them but it's so scary because of his muscles and bones, one of the boys broke his shoulder and arm in 2 places, it's healed now. I can't stop him, I just pray and make sure they don't get rough with him!

Make-A-Wish granted him a wish, he wanted a hot tub or swimming pool, they said it was too dangerous, so they built him a playground in the back yard, which was disappointing, the ramps were made for walking up and his scooter won't go up and is over 10 feet tall. But we are grateful and thankful for the thought.

The doctors say Josh will need a heart transplant when he gets older or a ventilator to breath and will have a shortened life so please pray for Josh and our family, GOD gives us strength for these special children we have. It's hard at times though, how is a parent suppose to watch their child get sicker?!





Abilities:

See: Yes.
Hear: Yes.
Talk: Yes.
Walk: Yes, but limited.
Read: Yes.
Use hands: Yes.

Siblings:
sister Laura, age 18
brother Casey, age 17
brother Austin, age 9

Child's Interests:
Josh loves Movies (John Wayne or any westerns), toys, loves animals, arts & crafts!

Sibling's Interests:
Austin loves animals, books, movies, toys and crafts!