Josh's HOPE Fund

This is us. The Glasscocks. Josh and Amy. Husband and wife. Josh isn't just my husband and best friend, he's my HERO. I'd like to tell you why...

Joshua is a 31 year old CFer. He was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis (CF), a terminal genetic disease, at the age of 3. Since birth, Josh's life has been an uphill battle. CF is considered mostly a "childrens disease" because many patients do not make it to adulthood. Thanks to the leaps and bounds in medical science, the life expectancy for CFers has increased dramatically, just in Josh's lifetime. At the time of his diagnosis (in 1987), the average life expectancy was in the teens. He was not expected to survive his high school years, let alone graduate and attend college. Josh was never expected to get a degree, hold a job, find a spouse, have a family, or live a full life.

By God's grace, Josh has surpassed all expectations and limitations - he graduated high school, earned a Bachelors degree in college, married the love of his life (me), played "dad" for a season (to our three temporary foster children), and has held the same job for 8 years. Josh acknowledges that all his successes and acheivements are blessings from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Without Jesus, Josh (and his family) would never have been able to cope with the hardships of living with cystic fibrosis. The yearly hospitalizations, daily regimens of treatments, and 40+ pills swalled each day would add up to be TOO much. CF is a very complicated disease and the mutated genetic strand that causes CF has many different variations. This makes the CF population very diverse in each cases' severity. Some patients, like Josh, have major digestive (malabsorbtion) issues AS WELL AS major lung degeneration. Josh has always had more significant digestive issues and in the past few years he's lost a lot of weight. At 6ft tall, Josh is weighing in at anywhere between 135lbs-142lbs. This is less than he weighed in Junior High. 


In all the medical advances, CF remains a life-threatening, terminal disease. The average life expectancy is now around 37years. With Josh's lung function currently hovering around 28% (as of March 2016), his doctors are recommending we start looking into the option of a double lung transplant. The lungs are the most difficult organ to transplant (even more than the heart!). A small window of time for the surgery and a narrow margin for success (you have to be "sick enough to need it but well enough to survive it") makes this operation risky... especially for CFers, who bring a menagerie of other complications to the table. 

Doctors give CFers 2 options of care at the end of their life, when their lung function dips below 30%...

1. Choose NOT to get on the lung transplant list.
You'll continue to do what you've always done - treatments at home and routine hospitalizations. Your condition will worsen, you will be hospitalized more frequently and for longer periods of time, will become oxygen-dependent and will (most likely) die within 2 years.
             Josh calls this the "going out the CF way"

2. Get ON the transplant list. Hope that you recieve a pair of lungs in time to save you and add years to your life. If all goes well, you will (possibly) live 2-5 years more. The risks are VERY high and the side effects of the anti-rejection drugs pose a huge hazard to your health (including cancers, tumors, kidney failure, lymphoma, diabetes, etc). 

So here we are. As of this year, we began the frustrating journey of researching clinics and information about the lung transplant process. After MUCH research, prayer, and visits to 3 lung transplant centers in Texas, we have decided to try another route. "The road less traveled". 

We believe there is a 3rd option
3. Do whatever we can, naturally and proactively, to restore Josh's lung function and boost his immune system. In other words, DO WHATEVER WE CAN for AS LONG AS WE CAN to avoid having to have a double lung transplant.We have already begun implementing natural treatments at home, and in many ways Josh believes that these are working - feeling at times more energized. But his health is still very unstable - "ups and downs" throughout the day. We think his lungs have deteriorated to the point that it will take AGGRESSIVE intervention before any results can be seen. His CF has progressed so much and the damage to his lungs is so extensive that whatever efforts we make with "home remedies" will be minimal "scratches on the surface" of a much bigger underlying problem. Maybe what Josh requires is an extensive round of aggressive therapy and natural antibiotics that will really penetrate and get to the core issue (the infections in the lungs). What Josh needs is a MIRACLE.Through Providence, we've been introduced to a man who may be able to help. Dr. Hines, of Hope Wellness Center, is an experienced Naturopathic Doctor. He has specialized knowledge of Infectious Diseases, and is well-informed about the infections Josh has grown in his lungs (MRSA, aspergilis, pseudamonus, etc). Dr. Hines believes that Josh would benefit greatly from several weeks at his clinic in Acuna, Mexico where he and his colleague, Dr. Rivera (MD) combine both conventional medicine and naturopathic treatments to improve their patients' health. Together, these doctors have over 40 years of traditional and naturopathic education and experience. But despite their expertice, amazing reputations, and high success rates, they trust GOD with the "healing" of their patients. Their philosophy is this, "We don't cure anything, God takes care of that. We simply assist the body's immune system with leading edge technologies to fight disease conditions." For Josh's treatment in particular, the focus (says Dr. Hines) would be first and foremost treating the infections in Josh's lungs. The goal being to get rid of the bacteria and infection pockets altogether (not just "suppress" them with antibiotics). Another focus would be on repairing his lungs from the excessive scarring which has taken place. Josh's digestive issues would be secondary, but would be given equal consideration in the healing process. Patients, like Josh, who have spent a lifetime on antibiotics, have little natural healthy bacteria (flora) left in their systems... adding to or causing their malabsorbtion and digestive issues. I am hopeful that Dr. Rivera (who has cross-trained into nutritional medicine the past 15 years) will be instrumental in Josh's nutritional needs/treatments.So here's our proposal. Our goal. Our "plan of HOPE" for Josh. We would like to go to the Hope Wellness Clinic for 6 weeks of extensive treatment. In order to do that, we have to raise the funds for the clinic, which includes all treatments and medications administered, our living expenses at a lovely family-run hotel in Del Rio (Texas), and food allowance to cover our time there. All of that, (estimated by Josh himself) adds up to be around $30,000. Shocking, perhaps, at first. But through our eyes, it seems very possible. We serve a God in whom "ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE"!
 Josh's normal hospitalizations in Austin, for a 2 week stay, add up to be about $107,000. That doesn't count any surgeries. Last year he was in 4 times. That added up to half a million dollars!


So here's an oportunity for SIX weeks of healthy treatments (all expenses for BOTH of us included in the cost) for $30,000 out of pocket. Sounding more reasonable? It is to us. If we dont raise enough money, or if we cannot go to the clinic in Mexico (if Josh's health turns bad fast or something else prevents us), then Josh says we'll use the funds (however much is raised) for his second option - Lung Transplant. If the clinic in Mexico doesnt work out despite our faithful efforts... then Josh is willing to try a transplant. But only if "All Else Fails". So, no matter what happens in the end... the money we raise WILL go to Josh - for his health and healing.
Because Josh's health has been so unpredictable and deteriorated so quickly in the past year, we are eager to send him to the clinic ASAP. For this reason, we are hoping to raise funds by September (2016). 

In advance, to each of you, we want to say THANK YOU. We appreciate your prayers, encouragement, concern, and generocity. The Lord is our strength and the Body of Christ is our family. We are clinging to and trusting Him in all  of this. We pray that you, too, will TRUST THE LORD WITH ALL YOUR HEART AND LEAN NOT ON YOUR OWN UNDERSTANDING, BUT IN ALL YOUR WAYS ACKNOWLEDGE HIM. For then, HE WILL DIRECT YOUR PATHS
(Proverbs 3:5-6)


Let the race to $30,000 begin...

"LET US RUN WITH PATIENCE THE RACE THAT IS SET BEFORE US,  LOOKING UNTO JESUS THE AUTHOR AND FINISHER OF OUR FAITH..."
(Hebrews 12:1-2)

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*To learn more about CF, what it is, and how it affects the body, click on the link below https://www.cff.org/What-is-CF/About-Cystic-Fibrosis/