Joshua Arnold

The procedure at the hospital went very well and Joshua went home the next day. The family thanks everyone for their prayers and concern.

UPDATED September 18, 2008

I know everyone is wanting to know how Josh's Dr apt.on September 9th. So I am sending out a quick email to everyone at once.

It didn't go as well as we had hoped. The cancer is back and has gotten worse in the past 2 months since his last MRI. They are looking at all the options right now. It will need to be treated. But first they have to decide weather to do a biopsy or do surgury to try to remove what they can. We really don't know right now what is going to happen. Dr. Musselman is
getting together with several other doctors and do some research. He said it will be a week or two before he will get back with us. It seems there are several options to look at. They need to figure out what kind of treatment would be the best way to go. There are a lot of decicions to make in the next couple of weeks. Please pray that the right ones will be made. And that God will be with Josh through this trial. Thank you all for your concern for Josh.

All our love,

Brenda (mother)

UPDATED August 1, 2007

We just wanted to share with everyone that the results from Josh's full body bone scan and MRI have come back and look good. We go in to see the doctor in a couple of weeks. The doctor just got back from vacation that is why it is taking so long to see him. But he did have his nurse call us so we would know the tests looked good. It has been a great week to say the least. Hope you are all having a very good week too.

Love,
Brenda (mother)

Hello, As most of you know Josh had an MRI & Bone Scan done Dec.12. His last chemo was Dec. 14 and we got the test results back that day also.

Everything looked very good. Even better than the doctors hoped for. Almost all of the inflammation is gone. The doctor does not expect Josh to have to do any more chemo. He will have to go in for blood tests every couple of months for about a year and a MRI & Bone Scan in about 6 months. Josh is now off of all medications with the exception of Mercaptopurine which he can stop taking this coming Wed. He is feeling much better, however he is still having trouble sleeping but with time he will get that straightened out. His muscles are still weak from the Prednisone, but they will strengthen back up in time also.

First and for-most we thank God for all he has done for Josh. This could have gone so much worse and at times we were told by the doctors that it would. But God stepped in every time the doctors gave a bad report. At one point the bone specialist said he had no explanation as to why the Eosinophelic Granuloma died out in an area before it could break the bone. But for no reason (even though it was making new holes) it would just stop short of going all the way through the bone and just die out. This is just one example of how God intervened in Josh's healing. God has blessed Josh & us with such mercy & love. We are eternally grateful to Him.

We also want to thank all of you for all of the prayers and support you gave Josh & us through these past 4 years, and especially this last 6 months through his chemo. How do you thank family & friends enough? To our family, who have been so good to us and have been very supportive through so many tests, biopsy's, surgery, chemo, talks on the phone, etc. It has been a long hall but you have been by us all the way. Thank you so very much. We are very grateful for you all! And we love you very much! And all of you, (our friends), have also been very supportive and offered your time in prayer, and some very comforting words. We are grateful for you also. And we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. I am sorry this is so long but I felt so strongly about our appreciation that I had to say Thank you to all of you. As I write this I find myself in tears, it is sinking in that this trial is over. I pray we have learned all we could from it.

We had a good trip to Virginia It was great to see Jonathon & Chancy!! They say hello to everyone.

Many of you have been asking about Josh. Josh did ok on the trip but it did tire him out a bit. He had some pain in his chest and shoulder from the chemo treatment right before we left on the trip. The day after we got back Josh had another chemo treatment. (Wed.) They had a great deal of trouble getting the needle into his vein. After so much sticking, your veins start to scar, making it difficult to get a needle into it. After 3 1/2 hours at the hospital and the chemo, Josh wasn't feeling very well. Soon after we got home he tired quickly and wasn't feeling at all well. He could not eat dinner. Later he was very sick to his stomach and was throwing up everything he had inside. He is now on an antibiotic for 10 days, which didn't help. He had a rough night Wed. night. Even through the night he had trouble sleeping and was in the bathroom often. He did much better Thur. and even went to work Thur. night. Today he is much more like himself. He fells so much better. We give thanks to God for that! Looks like we will make it for church Sabbath. We look forward to seeing you all.

Love,

Brenda (mother)

From Ken Graham, pastor, Bloomington-Normal/Canton/Springfield, IL:

Josh Arnold, of the Bloomington-Normal congregation, is struggling with a rare immune system malfunction. His immune system generates an enzyme (too long to pronounce) which is natural but in quantities that are far too great and damaging to his system. The enzymes attack the bone in his hip area and eat out small pockets of bone. For many this malfunction disappears at adulthood. However rarely, in Josh's case it has not, and doctors fear if it continues untreated the enzymes may settle in the organs which could be very serious. The doctors have decided that about 6-7 months of chemo therapy will kill the excess enzymes. Josh, who is just 18 years old, began treatment this last week. He had hopes of attending the Ambassador Bible Center this January, however with the chemo and follow-up issues, will not be able to do so. Please pray that there will not be any severe side effects from the chemo and that God will intervene, remove and heal this immune system malfunction.

PO Box 584
Mansfield, IL 61854

The new lesion on Josh's Ischium bone has been diagnosed as Eosinophilic granuloma and not bone cancer. This is the same condition he was diagnosed with almost 4 years ago, when he was 14, with the first lesion on his pelvis. The surgery and treatment they did on him 4 years ago obviously didn't stop the disease as they had hoped. It is a very rare condition (around 1,000 people have it) and rarer still is the fact Josh got it at age 14. Most kids that get it are 10 years old or younger. The disease in kids at that age usually burns it's self out, but when the disease occurs in older children and young adults as in Josh's case, it is more difficult to deal with and doesn't go away on it's own. It is considered an auto-immune disease. Cells that normally attack disease begin to attack the body instead. It not only attacks the skeletal system, but can also attack other parts of the body such as the vital organs and nervous system which can lead to other de-abilitating diseases. Josh will be under going another biopsy soon and having his entire body x-rayed along with seeing a hemotologist to see if the disease has spread to his organs and other parts of his body. Depending on what they find he may have to undergo low grade chemotherapy for a year or at the least possibly radiation if they find it is localized. They doctors aren't really sure how to treat it. Please pray God will intervene on Josh's behalf, that the disease hasn't gone to his organs or other body parts and that he will get rid of this disease once and for all. Thank you in advance for your prayers.

The doctors have found a new hole in his hip that has eaten away 60% of the bone and a spot has reappeared. Joshua is going to be examined by other cancer specialists. The family is very concerned about these developments and would appreciate everyone's prayers for Joshua's condition.

Hi Mr. Kubik

My son Mike asked me if you would put (Josh) on your website prayer list. He is having quite a bit of pain again in and around his hip area. Josh will be going in for an M. R. I. on Monday or Tuesday of next week. Thank you and bye for now.

Love,
Nelson and Grace

Joshua had an appointment with the Orthopedic Surgeon today (Friday, Nov 8). It went very well. They did an x-ray to see if the Osteo-Set was still in place and it was. They also removed the staples. The Pathology Report had a final diagnosis of Eosinophilic Granuloma. This is a Bone Cyst. The Doctor said that the Cyst has burned itself out, but can't explain why. There is no sign of any remaining infection. Joshua can put 80% of his weight on his leg with the help of his crutches. He can return to school with certain restrictions. He will have to be on the crutches for 6 weeks to 3 months depending on how long it takes the bone to fill in. Joshua will have to see the Orthopedic Surgeon for several years for follow up to make sure the Cyst wont appear in the other spots he had on his bone. If they start to appear Joshua will have to undergo Chemotherapy. But the Doctor is optimistic that this will not be the case. Joshua is doing very well. This is truly a blessing from God. We are so grateful for all the prayers.

UPDATED November 2, 2002

More good news this week. Joshua's test results from his recent surgery have came back very good. There is no sign of the infection. He will not have to take antibiotics. The Doctor said he had Granuloma- a benign cyst. We are not sure if this is different than Osteomelytis or a part of it.

Not sure what all is next. He has an appointment with the Doctor next Friday. They will do an x-ray and take out the staples. And the Doctor will answer our questions at that time. Joshua is doing very well. He bumped himself a couple of times this week, which was very painful, but he recovered quickly. We are so grateful in Gods hand in all Joshua has gone through. We have undoubtedly seen Gods healing power at work.

Again we thank everyone for their continued prayers!!

All our love,
Mike & Brenda

Joshua came home Friday. about 2:00 pm. He didn't have to use the morphine during his night stay at the hospital more than once. I had him use it once so he would sleep better, but I don't think he would have needed it then. They sent him home with Tylenol/Codeine. He has only taken it once or twice. He is not having much pain. He is getting around the house pretty good. He is scheduled to go back to see the Surgeon in two weeks. They will take out the 16 staples and do an x-ray. Several weeks later they will do a CAT scan.

God has been with Joshua every step of the way!! Joshua had several visitors from church on Saturday and some on Sunday. It is so encouraging to have such a great amount of support. We are just so grateful to so many people for all the continued prayers for Joshua.

Mike & Brenda Arnold

Joshua came home Friday! Ahead of schedule. Joshua is up and moving around on crutches. At last report he did not need to use any pain medication.

Joshua was in surgery today for two hours to remove cysts on the right femur. To pack the hole in his hip the surgeon added a mix of synthetic bone and antibiotics. Another biopsy will be sent to find the source of infection. The surgeon was optimistic that the operation was successful and will not have to be repeated.

We wanted to update you on Joshua. He is feeling good and has no pain at this time. The Dr. has still not located the infection. Joshua is scheduled for surgery Oct 24 to have the infected areas of the bone cleaned and the hole filled with cadaver bone and antibiotic. He is having the surgery in Champaign at the surgery center. Joshua has received over 100 cards from all over the country. This was so encouraging for him and all of us. We know that so many people have been praying for Joshua and we cant thank everyone enough!! There is power in prayer and we have seen God answer ours and so many peoples prayers for our son. We know God has intervened on his behalf and we are so very grateful. We thank everyone for all the cards and prayers!! Please pray that the surgery goes well.

We have received very good news today! Josh does not have cancer. What a blessing from God!!! Mayo clinic said there was no cancer but thought the bone looked inflamed. (this means infection.) However when they tried to grow a culture to see what the infection was, they couldn't get one to grow. They were suppose to include fungus cultures in these tests but they didn't get put on the list. They say Josh has Chronic Osteomyelitis. Which means inflammatory infection. The doctor believes this is what made the hole in the bone. But he is stumped as to why it is not showing up in the blood tests or on the cultures. They did more blood tests today and a TB test. On Monday they are doing a Hystoplasma test. He is trying to find the infection so he knows what kind of antibiotic to give him. Josh may be on a IV with antibiotics for a while or he will take it in pill form. The doctor isn't sure yet. They will still have to do surgery to fill the bone hole with cadaver bone and antibiotic mixed. Since we don't know the type of infection yet, he don't know what caused it. He did say that the fact that Joshua has asthma and used medicine for so long, could be a possibility. After the surgery they will try to grow fungus cultures from what they scrape out of the hole. So we may not know anything until after that is done or we may not know at all.. But we know God has intervened for Josh and listened to so many prayers! And we are so grateful for each one of them!! We thank both of you for your concern for our son. We appreciate it more than we can say. We don't know when or where the surgery will be. But we will need to make that decision soon.

Josh is undergoing tests yesterday and today. His blood tests have come back normal....so that's good news. More results to come.

Fourteen-year-old Joshua Arnold has been having a great deal of pain in his hip. His parents, Mike and Brenda Arnold, took him to the doctor last week and they did x-rays. The doctor called today and said that Josh has a cystic lesion in the thermal neck joint area of his hip. They have found a hole in the bone socket and pelvis. He will be having a biopsy and a bone scan. Joshua is on crutches.

Joshua went in for a biopsy on Thursday, but the anesthesiologist would not put him under since he wasn't feeling well and his asthma was bothering him. They rescheduled the biopsy for Tuesday and the bone scan for Monday.

Cards of encouragement can be sent to:

        Joshua Arnold
        P.O. Box 584
        Mansfield, IL 61854