Every parent's worst nightmare. On Friday, January 16th, after a very rough night at home, Josh and Emily took little Luke (3 yrs old) to the doctor for what they presumed was possible pneumonia. After a diagnostic chest x-ray, they were informed there was a large tumor-like mass in Luke's chest, and they would be referred to the St. Jude for further diagnostics.

Many tests later, and an eventual removal surgery provided more questions than answers, as multiple biopsies were sent off to St. Jude headquarters in Memphis for further testing and analysis. Unfortunately, there was only one thing that was certain; little Luke had cancer. The only question now was what kind, had it metastasized, and was there more hiding in his lymph nodes and bones. After an excruciating wait and additional scans and tests, they were hit with an official diagnosis - "Extraosseous Ewing Sarcoma". They were told that this is an extremely rare form of cancer, and that Luke would need to start treatment immediately, even as he recovered from major chest surgery to remove the initial mass.

Some major blessings with this diagnosis were that they had caught it so young (it effects children 15 years and younger, but the younger the child, the higher rate of survival), and the discovery that it had not metastasized (this took survival rates from the teens with having metastasized to survival rates in the 70th percentile with not having metastasized). Praise God for small miracles.

Little Luke received his chemo port and began treatment almost immediately. Unfortunately, with the chemo came extreme pain and horrendous mouth sores. Poor Luke has been on a cocktail of morphine and anti-nausea meds just to get rest. Unfortunately, his treatments have already taken a large toll on his body, which has led to blood transfusions, infections, and more hospitalizations. Luke loves his momma dearly, but also needs his daddy with him to make this bearable.

Being a single income family, with Josh being the sole provider, has placed an immense amount of stress on this young family as both mom and dad are trying to find a balance of being their for their 3 year old who is hospitalized, confused, and doesn't really understand what is happening, and being there for their other 2 kids and one another. Dad understandably feels guilty for not being there, but they also need the income and health insurance. As a union steel worker, Josh is only paid for hours worked (they have no PTO or time off), and his insurance is purely based on hours worked (if he does not work enough, the family loses health insurance). There are times when Josh is the only one who can get through to little Luke and get him to cooperate with the doctors. I cannot imagine the crisis of conscience involved in trying to balance providing for his family, and being there for his son in what could be his last few months.

I am asking you to prayerfully consider donating what you can to help this young family in their time of need. For those who know Josh and Emily personally, you know how kind and compassionate they are. They would go out of their way to help someone in need, but unfortunately, they are the ones who need the help right now.

Luke's current treatment plan is a 3 week rotation consisting of 2 days of chemo the first week, 5 days of chemo the second week, and 1 week off. This will repeat for at least the next 8 months with proton therapy radiation sprinkled in as well. For Luke's part, the doctors are praising him on how well he is handling all of this, but his little body is so worn out and weak right now.

Update 6/8/26

Luke update:

Josh, Emily & Luke left late last night for Memphis St. Jude. They arrived there early this morning. Luke has a bunch of test scheduled for tomorrow. Luke’s rib resection is scheduled for this Wednesday, June 10th. I haven't heard a time yet. After Luke recovers from surgery he will be having radiation and chemo in Memphis. It is unsure how long they will be in Memphis. The amount of radiation (proton beam) Luke needs will be determined after surgery. But it does sound like they could be in Memphis a month and a half or two months. Carter and Violet stayed in Peoria with my mom. There are a lot of prayer requests so I'll bullet point them below:

▪︎Luke’s tests

▪︎Luke’s surgery (this is a major surgery and the sections of rib being removed is very close to his spine. Prayers for skilled hands of the surgeon & team, good margins and recovery)

▪︎Wisdom for the team of doctors determining how much radiation & future treatments

▪︎Peace for Josh, Emily & Luke

▪︎ Carter & Violet (longest separation for them & parents)

▪︎Luke to stay healthy

▪︎Stamina for all

Thank you so much for all your support ❤️