Josie's story
Josie was diagnosed at six weeks old with Biliary Atresia, which is a rare liver disease that causes cirrhosis of the liver. At eight weeks old Josie had the Kasai procedure which sews her liver to her intestine so bile can drain from the body. The doctors had hoped that she could make it until 2 years old before needing a transplant. Although there have been bumps in the road, Josie has weathered each storm amazingly well over the past 11 years. Recently however things have taken a turn for the worse.
Josie hasn’t been feeling as well lately and has many symptoms that are concerning.Some of them include itchy skin, yellow skin & eyes, bloody stools, swollen spleen and liver, and her stomach is noticeably larger. Josie has even experienced stunted growth and it’s easy to see since she has a twin sister who is in good health. Doctors say once she has received a liver transplant, all of these symptoms will go away & she will resume normal growth.
At 10 years old, Josie wrote a letter to God asking Him "Why did you give this disease to me?” She became more aware of the disease and began to ask her parents more questions regarding it. She has since exchanged her questions into thoughts and songs of Faith. She has written over 25 songs.
Josie created the idea for the song “Heal the Impossible” while walking home from the bus stop with her twin sister Jessie on a beautiful sunny day. Once she arrived at home, she grabbed her notebook, settled into her backyard hammock, and wrote down the lyrics that spoke what was on her heart.
A mutual friend of Josie’s family and CCI Solutions, Dylan Cochran, helped arrange and record the song for a CD that could be used to help raise money for Josie’s health costs. CCI Solutions’ donated the printed CD Sleeves that were produced by our 3-Day Discs Team to finish out the project.
Josie’s “Heal the Impossible” CD is available at CCI Solutions or at Church of Living Water in Olympia, Washington.
To follow Josie's Journey or to find out how you can help please visit:
www.giveforward.org/Josie.