Meet Joshy
Josh was diagnosed with B-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia at the age of four. Immediately following a family vacation to Hawaii, Josh began complaining about severe pain in his legs. In his sweet innocence, he believed that his legs were broken. Over the next couple of weeks, he grew tired and began having fevers. His parents took him to urgent care, and then to visit his pediatrician, but their concerns were met with a reassurance that stung like rejection. His mother knew that something was not right and that her son was sicker than anyone knew.
Josh’s symptoms persisted for a month before his mother began to see signs of her son weakening, nearly clinging to his life. On August 29, 2017, she carried him into the emergency room begging for help. Her baby boy was limp in her arms, unable to walk or to open his eyes. Medical personnel believed that whatever was making Josh sick was only a virus. As a result, Josh and his parents waited in the hospital emergency room for nearly two hours before being receiving labwork.
Josh’s parents waited anxiously in a hospital hallway for any news that would help them to understand why his health seemed to be taking a sudden turn for the worst. When the doctor returned with his lab results, Josh’s family was given news that would shake their core and change their lives forever.
Josh was transferred to Children’s Hospital of Orange County in an ambulance where he was given Tylenol for his fever. He began to sit up and play, while his mother stifled her own devastated tears. As Josh and his parents made their way to CHOC, through the lobby, and to the Oncology department, his mother felt the shock start to wear off. She mustered up the quiet courage to ask for confirmation: “Does he have cancer?” She hoped for a different answer, but the nurse’s confirmation hit her with like a ton of bricks. After losing a close cousin to cancer as a child, all she knew about cancer was that it was deadly.
The next day, Josh had a port placed and an induction, in an attempt to clear the leukemia cells from his body. Josh and his family remained at CHOC for two straight weeks before being released to go home. Over the next few weeks, the family would learn that Josh was allergic to multiple medications as he endured severe reactions to treatment. He was even found to be allergic to blood as he reacted negatively to his transfusions. In addition, Josh’s induction did not clear the leukemia cells from his body. His parents attended a conference with his doctors to discuss his new, more intensive roadmap, which included more chemotherapy and higher doses of his medications.
His family was forced to live the next few months brave with broken hearts and crippled with fear. Josh began to gain a significant amount of weight and lost all of his hair during treatment. He began to look at himself in the mirror and ask his family not to look at him. When offered gifts while he was receiving treatment, he asked for nothing but a lemonade, and something for his sister. Josh was always a giving child - a “gentle giant.” But in those moments, he grew more selfless. Josh had always been “a lover - not a fighter.” But since his diagnosis, he has been the biggest fighter for his life.
By July of 2018, Josh was in maintenance. He went to Kindergarten and began praying for a baby brother. Life was getting back to normal. Up until this year, Josh was thriving. His parents believed that they were on their way out of the woods. But the celebration of their new lease on life came to an abrupt halt in February 2020, when Josh went back to the hospital to receive a lumbar puncture at his routine 3-month appointment. Josh was in remission and only 10 months (3 spinal taps) from completing his 3.5 year treatment when he relapsed.
This time, he had shown no symptoms. He was admitted to the hospital for 30 days straight, where he spent most of the time in isolation and was able to achieve remission. He then began 60 days of chemotherapy and 30 days of immunotherapy. His doctors discovered that his liver is damaged, and his treatment has been placed on hold in hopes that his organs recover quickly so that he is well enough to receive the treatment that he so desperately needs. In the meantime, Josh has will be working on building up his superpower as the “Lean, Green, Healing Machine.” At just 5 years old, he resolved to take over the world, one child at a time, with rainbows that will fly out of his hands and heal each and every one of them who are sick with this awful disease.
Josh’s family now has a renewed outlook on life with Leukemia. They are sharing their journey to help others, and they are learning to thrive within their new community in a way that they never imagined that they would. For Josh and his family, a Rooms to Thrive™ would kickstart their mission to detox their home the best that they can - for Josh, and for the baby brother that he prayed for.
Josh will have a space to thrive in that represents who he has become along his journey, and who he has always been - a lovable, full-of-life little boy, and a Super Hero.
DAY 1: Joshy’s Rooms to Thrive™️
A huge thank you to all of the friends and family of the Hamlin family. Amazing group of people. @mattressmakers for always always saying yes and providing, sponsoring one of the MOST important items in every Rooms to Thrive™️. We a truly blessed to have your company as Corporate Comfort Creators!
We’re partnered with 5T2 Development
(www.5t2development.com) who will paint all rooms moving forward. Our family friends who knew Carsyn and have partnered with us since day one moved out of state and dissolved their painting company. Before David left he connected us with an amazing and sweet man who in meeting I found out loss his 17 year old son less than 2 years ago to leukemia at @radychildrens and feels honored to be apart 😫😫😭😭😢😭 of what we’re doing. (Don’t worry I’ll be making a video with more details about this along with an intro of Ryan).
As you all can see day 1 was amazing! Absolutely amazing! I’m sure you all recognize some of the fierce mamas and families we’ve served in these photos as well. Can I tell you that we’ve truly been able to serve some of the best in all of the world.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CG2gReJFXWa/
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DAY 2: Joshy’s Rooms to Thrive™️
I have a video to share to go along with this day. The gentleman you see helping my husband with wood in the photos has blessed our foundation and the Hamlin family in a huge and beautiful way. I cant share what he’s done because it’ll show too much.
Stay tuned for the video. But let me say this: Anthony Mitzi Cruz is a wood-working genius, he’s Kara’s grandpa (last year we installed our first Rooms to Heal for Kara; read her story here http://www.carsynneillefoundation.org/meet-kara). I am blessed and so honored to be able to call this girl my niece. This family has become my family. Please read this family’s story if you’re new to this page or if you’re a friend or family member of the Hamlin family. If you’ve volunteered this week and had the chance to meet Donnikah or Papa Tony you will be touched in such a deep way.
For this install, @behaviorgenius , LLC + @curbysnursery sponsored a hotel room for the family. Every family has a different need that we really tap into to personally serve each family. We’re truly not a cookie cutter organization. For some reason the only stay well hotel in the area wouldn’t allow us to book any stay well rooms (they’re whole 4th floor unbookable; my thoughts, there’s a celebrity staying there that’s booked the whole floor). So we took Joshy’s air purifier (also sponsored by Behavior Genius), diffuser, @drbronner Castile soap and a few essential oil combinations to make the room a Hotel Rooms to Thrive™️.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CG2hck1l1rf/
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Day 3: Joshy’s Rooms to Thrive™️
We’re so grateful. We can’t believe the doors that are opening for CNF, specifically in a year that most people have deemed “catastrophic” “the worst year ever”.
We are truly partnered with some wholesome and amazing companies. And let’s take this deeper, the people behind the companies are out of this world. I’m going to take it a bit further and even say not of this world. They are lights in this world. For me and my family and a lot of the family’s we serve, the people who have someway, somehow become connected to CNF have truly been sent to us in a divine manner. My board 💕, @mattressmakers ✨, Ashley + David Hathaway, @bekekoa , @maxloveproject , @curbysnursery and the list can seriously go on but then I’ll lose my train of thought and go off on a tangent.
For the last 3 years many of families have had the pleasure of meeting Portia James as shes interviews and has written the stories of all of our families. In my in my IG post last week I said “she adds soul to all the data”. She’s truly a genius when it comes to listening and then beautifully articulating each families childhood cancer story. So she’s been saying “yes” to impacting our families for years. We recently asked her to join our board in which she said “yes” again.
Fast forward to day 3 of Joshy’s install. Her company joins us for our first Corporate Team Building event and ROCKED it. R-O-C-K-E-D it! The @behaviorgenius team assemble furniture, sanded, painted, broke down trash, swept, mopped, dusted, installed, organized, ROCKED day 3! It was amazing!
A huge thank you the @rushchav family for coming out and rocking it as well for the day. So blessed to have your support.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CG8SzidlBk-/
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DAY 4: Joshy’s Rooms to Thrive™️
What a glorious day! Family friends and Santa Ana Police Department stopped by to make it happen for Joshy and Delilah’s Rooms to Thrive™️
Grateful. Beyond words.
We sanded, caulked, painted, organized, folded, color coordinated, ironed, swept, cleaned, sorted through, ate, laughed, built and installed so much this day.
Our buddy Andrew of @ocdwindows joined us again to wash all of the family’s windows. Why is this important? Well, we’re huge on allowing fresh air to enter into the homes right. But if our screens and windows aren’t clean then what are we allowing in our homes?
@mychaudu of Organize with MC came out with so much grace and great energy. What a talented woman. She planned the most amazing closet layout and solution for Joshy but due to COVID shipping and broken parts arriving. A majority of the items we ordered for his closet DID NOT come in. Did she seem bothered, frustrated, disappointed or anything? ABSOLUTELY NOT. She carried a calmness from the time I talked to her about it until the time she left this day. And Joshy’s closet? Perfection. Organized, labeled, merchandised, decluttered, everything has a place and everything will be seasonally rotated to keep the closet organized. I’m amazed and I’m so grateful it was something I could hand over with complete confidence that it would be done properly and with excellence.
On top of all of this greatness guess who arrives?!?!?! Come on......guess.
CHEF ANDREW of @kitchencurative, in collaboration with @maxloveproject! I truly love this collaboration. We’re exterior and MaxLove projects interior in a simple sense. So coming together in this ways so huge for the families. Providing our families with organic, healthy, flavorful and fun home-cooked meals for the entire week of install is a complete bonus. Take a look at the menu (in our stories) 😳🥰 out of control delicious and amazing!
