I wanted to share a family members story to the community in hopes that kind souls will see the struggle they are going through and possibly help make this time a little easier by taking some stress away. 

Josh is a veteran, a father and a husband. 

Back in October/November 2025 Josh noticed that he was starting to have major numbness down his arms and into his hands so he went for an MRI which showed that he had a brain tumor so surgery was scheduled for January 6th 2026.

Josh underwent a craniotomy and the doctors discovered that he had an astrocytoma grade 2 with an IDH mutation. This type of tumor, while slow growing, is extremely invasive. Having this surgery has resulted in Josh having apraxia [a neurological motor planning disorder - the brain struggles to sequence movements for voluntary actions despite the muscles functioning properly] and aphasia [a communication disorder caused by brain damage usually from a stroke, injury or tumor affecting speech, writing and comprehension].

Following surgery Josh lost all function of his right side and his speech. Through vigorous physical therapy he has gained the function and strength back on the right side of his body. Josh is still in speech therapy relearning to talk, he has gained some ability back but it’s definitely a slow long process.

Josh and his wife, Valerie, have an eight year old daughter, Sarah, who is homeschooled. Valerie has had to put a hold on her crafty business to be able to take care of Josh during his recovery journey.

Josh is currently on FMLA, which is UNPAID, it will run out in July if not sooner. 

I’m asking for any help towards their house payments, lights, water, food, gas and any other basic essentials that they may need in this time of need. 

This is a list of monthly expenses (rough estimates of everything except the house payment which is they exact amount):

House payment - $2,600

Lights - $200

Water - $100

Food - $1,100

Gas - $150

Valerie has Venmo, Zelle, PayPal and Apple Pay. I have cashapp that any funds that go there will go directly and fully to Valerie.

Venmo @valerie_cwm

PayPal: valeriecolorwithmom

Zelle & Apple Pay can be provided privately as it’s Valerie’s phone number. You can reach out to me Shalie via email and I can provide the necessary information [shalie.brown@gmail.com]

Cashapp @ShalieT94

Josh also has a TikTok account that follows his journey if you would like to follow along to watch his progress 

TikTok:

@whenlambsbecomeslions

I appreciate all that anyone can do to help these wonderful people. Even if that means you share this in any way possible!

Each and every one of you brings a light into this world!