Josh Made Dreams
Lisa and I were lucky enough to have 2 sets of twin boys Ben, Josh Jack and Sam all born within 16 months between 2004 and 2006. Despite a semi- permanent state of knackeredness we were permanently happy and definitely proud of being “that couple with the 2 sets of twins”.
In 2015 at the age of 10, Josh started to complain of pains in his lower back and in 2016 we were told that he had a rare form of bone cancer - Ewing’s Sarcoma. Josh bravely struggled through the strongest forms of chemotherapy, radiotherapy and so many forms of pain relief imaginable. Despite all the treatment, towards the latter half of 2016 Lisa and I were told Josh would not see another Christmas beyond 2016.
Josh had been incredibly focused and mature and through conversations as a family we started a bucket list. Josh being Josh wanted the majority to be for the whole family. He enjoyed a good laugh so he set about thinking of things that would be fun us all - if everyone was laughing that was far better for Josh than laughing on his own.
All our boys liked a song with a story, perfect for road trips to France. Their Auntie’s Dad used to play in a band with those cockney likely lads of 70’s/80’s fame - Chas and Dave. Put these two things together and Josh decided they were worthy of a place on his list… So, Suzi got tickets for C&D in glorious Basingstoke -and she met us there herself to make sure Josh got to meet them – with special seats. Due to the chemo josh was violently sick on the way but was determined to get there - showing how much it meant to him.
Suzi arranged a family photo session with a professional photographer and the memorable result is on our dining room wall. Then there were the special gloves for Josh’s trike/wheelchair and a fantastic lego Star Wars kit – through the pain, putting a smile on Josh’s face…as did Go-Karting with the bro’s.
Josh was over the moon to receive a red food mixer which on a number of occasions, distracted him enough to dull some of the pain and worry and create some lovely bread and cakes…..and to meet the Arsenal squad at their Training facilities….
When Josh put down going to see his favourite comedian Tim Vine - the result was astounding…Tim actually came to our house and launched into a full-scale stand-up routine in our living room. Even the local Postman got roped in after an innocent knock on the door.
Tim then found inspiration to write one of the greatest songs ever performed on stage through conversations over lunch with our boys – “Cake and Milk” – check it out…it’s a classic!
We’d never seen our boys so happy during Josh’s illness….thank you Tim.
Josh finally lost his battle on the 8th September 2017 – he missed one of his bucket list items by two months – seeing his 13thbirthday. But he won the hearts of many many people along the way. We wanted to support Suzi and her team and see them grow to help more families like us in the future, hence our “Journey for Josh” events. We would not have such happy memories and as many recordings of Josh’s laugh if Suzi and TMD hadn’t been there.
Cheers Josh – your legacy lives on and these memories will never die
Love
Mum, Dad, Ben, Jack and Sam xxxxx
