The Proulx Crew Needs Your Help

Josh is an amazing father of 3 and incredible husband. He's the fun dad who will climb a million steps over and over at a water park just to make his kids happy. He, himself, is a kid at heart. He's simply an amazing man who needs your help.

Josh's Story

In October of 2020, we noticed the sound of Josh's laugh changed. Instead of a normal laugh, it was like he was gasping and struggling to catch his breath. Next, he noticed excess saliva, chest pressure and shortness of breath. When seeing a Doctor in mid October, we were told it was anxiety. 

In November, Josh began having a hard time finishing sentences, along with speech issues. Symptoms progressively got worse, and in December, Stormi noticed the slurred speech. His Doctor thought maybe he had asthma (due to the shortness of breath) or allergies. He was treated for both, to no avail.

December was the month everything hit hard, At work, Josh would have shortness of breath after showing boats, walking, climbing stairs, and any light activity. In addition, his chest pressure worsened, and he began coughing, having acid reflux and was choking on liquids. At this point, he physically had to push words to get them out. He noticed that he had to speak very slowly, and in low, quiet tones to communicate. Simple tasks like speaking and brushing his teeth began to cause Josh major fatigue. Hoarseness also accompanied the other symptoms. He began waking up at night, choking on saliva. He also gets cold very easily, which is not normal for him.

In mid December, Josh started to stumble and lose balance when walking. He began experiencing extreme leg fatigue, to the point that they feel like jello. His mouth became swollen, resulting in him biting the inside of his cheeks often. 

In January, eating became an activity that he had to work at in order not to choke. His vision started being affected as well - he was now experiencing black spots. His energy levels fell to an all time low, and he is also began experiencing fatigued arms, in addition to his legs. At this point, he saw his primary care Doctor again, and they ordered an MRI to check on his brain. The scan didn't show anything out of the ordinary. He was then referred to see an ENT, but he couldn't get in until February 20th. It felt like it was forever away! 

February 20th came, and he had an Endoscopy procedure to look for anything out of the ordinary. Everything looked fine, but the ENT mentioned that he may have Myasthenia Gravis, an autoimmune disorder. He was referred to a Neurologist and was able to be seen the next day, praise the Lord!  

On February 21st, the neurologist did several tests and confirmed the diagnosis - MG. He was admitted that afternoon, and spent Friday through Sunday in the hospital, receiving 5 rounds of IVIG treatments, 3 while admitted, and 2 rounds as outpatient. While hospitalized, he had another scan, this time on his thymus gland. They were checking for a tumor, but luckily that result came back in our favor. The IVIG caused Josh to have a migraine for 5 straight days. This made him more miserable than the rest of the symptoms combined. Neither the treatment, nor the medication prescribed have helped, so it makes Josh and his primary Dr question if the diagnosis is correct. He was referred to Mayo this week to see Dr. Ernest Hoffman, Neurologist on April 14th and will stay 5-7 days for further testing. Symptoms are progressively getting worse with time and we are still looking for answers.

Many medical bills have already begun to accrue and they will continue to accrue as we travel to Mayo for further testing and treatment. Your help is appreciated as Josh and the rest of the Proulx Crew fight this battle.

*Update-After visiting Mayo clinic in

March and July and receiving “probable

ALS diagnosis” both times, he received a

definite ALS diagnosis at the ALS clinic in

Fargo. We continue to fight hard to reverse his symptoms.