Josiah's Journey
Donation protected
Josiah Lanier (center in the photo above) is the ten-year old son of Nace and Jessie. He has a little brother, Becket, and a big sister, Eleanor. He's a typical kid who likes to ride his bike, play video games, run around with his friends outside and all that regular boy stuff.
On Sunday (4/19/15), life for all the Laniers changed drastically. After being unable to ride his bike, literally falling over in the grass, Jessie took Josiah to the urgent care where a CAT scan eventually landed Josiah at Children's Hospital in Washington D.C.
The next day, Josiah was diagnosed with a very rare type of brain tumor: Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG). The short version of that story is that this tumor is in his brain stem, it's inoperable, only about 300 children a year are diagnosed with it, and it has a very low survival rate. Like single digit low. (So, it's a good thing Josiah is such a scrappy little guy and he has a Father who is in the business of Amazing.)
Josiah will be undergoing the usual radiation treatments but he will also be entering a clinical trial that will hopefully lead to a cure for himself and hope for those who follow.
So why the fundraiser? There are a number of reasons:
1. There will be a LOT of trips to doctors and treatments which translates to a LOT of gas money, wear and tear on the vehicles, and trip incidentals.
2. Funds could be used for bucket list stuff and the occasional weekend family getaway. This will mean a lot to all of them and give his brother and sister some great memories to share with Josiah years from now when he beats this thing.
3. When Josiah gets into the clinical trials, there may be trips out of state to see other specialists (one of the potential trials is in Pittsburgh and another is in New York City).
4.Modifications at home may be needed to accomodate medical equipment.
5. So many people want to pitch in and support the Laniers but there are not enough opportunities to do so in person. This is a way you can bless their socks off.
To be honest, the dollar amount here is a bit arbitrary. The reality is, this could go on for a long time and we have no way of knowing just how far the rabbit hole will go financially.
There is a community setup for the support of Josiah and his family. It has a blog, photos, and a calendar with other ways you can support the Laniers: Josiah's Journey.
Thanks for giving whatever you can and even if you can't give financially, please pray often for Josiah, his family, and all those who will be working so hard to help him beat this thing.
On Sunday (4/19/15), life for all the Laniers changed drastically. After being unable to ride his bike, literally falling over in the grass, Jessie took Josiah to the urgent care where a CAT scan eventually landed Josiah at Children's Hospital in Washington D.C.
The next day, Josiah was diagnosed with a very rare type of brain tumor: Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG). The short version of that story is that this tumor is in his brain stem, it's inoperable, only about 300 children a year are diagnosed with it, and it has a very low survival rate. Like single digit low. (So, it's a good thing Josiah is such a scrappy little guy and he has a Father who is in the business of Amazing.)
Josiah will be undergoing the usual radiation treatments but he will also be entering a clinical trial that will hopefully lead to a cure for himself and hope for those who follow.
So why the fundraiser? There are a number of reasons:
1. There will be a LOT of trips to doctors and treatments which translates to a LOT of gas money, wear and tear on the vehicles, and trip incidentals.
2. Funds could be used for bucket list stuff and the occasional weekend family getaway. This will mean a lot to all of them and give his brother and sister some great memories to share with Josiah years from now when he beats this thing.
3. When Josiah gets into the clinical trials, there may be trips out of state to see other specialists (one of the potential trials is in Pittsburgh and another is in New York City).
4.Modifications at home may be needed to accomodate medical equipment.
5. So many people want to pitch in and support the Laniers but there are not enough opportunities to do so in person. This is a way you can bless their socks off.
To be honest, the dollar amount here is a bit arbitrary. The reality is, this could go on for a long time and we have no way of knowing just how far the rabbit hole will go financially.
There is a community setup for the support of Josiah and his family. It has a blog, photos, and a calendar with other ways you can support the Laniers: Josiah's Journey.
Thanks for giving whatever you can and even if you can't give financially, please pray often for Josiah, his family, and all those who will be working so hard to help him beat this thing.
Organizer
Michael Dickerson
Organizer
Springfield, VA
