Josh Obertein's Fight

     Everyone knows that guy. He’s the guys with the biggest heart, the most genuine smile, the one who’s always there to listen. He’s steadfast and fun, always helping others. Adored by his family and an amazing friend to everyone around him. That’s Josh. Years can go by in the tide of everyday life and Josh is the guy who picks up where things left off and you feel welcome and at home to be with him. He makes people feel heard and appreciated.
     We’ve known Josh since childhood, all the way back to elementary shenanigans, awkward middle school, and finding a way high school and beyond. Growing up in a small town meant we found ourselves in each others’ company often because we went to school together, worked together (enjoying the fine dining establishment of Linwood Corner’s), went to church together. It was easy to see a person’s true character by virtue of being together so often, and Josh never failed to shine as a compassionate and helpful friend – just the right mix of charisma and mischievousness. Big heart, big smile.
      Josh is one of the good guys, but cancer is not discerning. Cancer is an asshole, actually. Josh recently learned he has Multiple Myeloma, a very rare blood cancer. The cancer attacks the plasma cells- which are typically designed to protect our bodies, making his immune system weak and dysfunctional. Multiple Myeloma is often paired with kidney failure and bone damage, making pain, mobility challenges, and susceptibility to illness, prominent. Multiple myeloma is an ugly beast, and we have no doubt Josh will focus all of the energy he has for helping others on beating this disease – but there is no sugar coating that it won’t be an easy journey.
      Because Josh is such a kind and helpful soul, he has often prioritized others’ needs before him- including when it comes to insurance. Even though Josh would still give you the shirt off his back (even if it means going over a chemo port and pump), he currently doesn’t have any health insurance to tackle the growing expenses of aggressively treating his cancer. This is where you come in. Josh needs our help. If every one of us who can recall a time where Josh helped out, was a listening ear, or brought a smile to our faces gave to his campaign he’s be tremendously closer to financial security to focus on beating cancer, instead of on paying medical bills.
      So if you know and love Josh, please give. Help him focus all of his energy on getting well and relieve the burden of his medical bills and life expenses. Josh is too humble to ask for himself, but if you’ve ever spent more than 5 minutes with him you know that he’s incredibly deserving. Say a prayer. Give financially. Support his cause, because his generosity has built decades of good
karma, and now its time to cash it all in so he can push Multiple Myeloma into submission and get back to being that big-hearted, generous guy everyone knows.