Support the Spears Family

Josh Spears has suffered a catastrophic failure of his aorta. Fast reaction, a UofM airlift, an amazing team of thoracic surgeons at University of Michigan Hospital, and the pure grace of God have saved his life at this point. He is and will be ICU for some time as the risk factor is still terribly high.

We are asking for your support of the family during this difficult time. Josh and Julie are very active in the OLGC Parish School and sporting community with their 3 boys, Charlie, Danny and Benji!

Please consider donating to help ease the burden for the family. If you would like to make a non-cash donation of gifts card, food service cards or to go snack items instead, please reach out to me to coordinate pick up.

***6/30 Update***

Hi everyone!

It has been a while since I have posted an update! Josh has been making amazing progress! He is achieving a lot of his goals and is scheduled to come home Friday July 7th where he will continue his recovery! We want to thank everyone for their continued love, prayers and support during this journey! Our faith and love have grown even more. I’ll end with a Bible verse that Josh has been quoting…

“All things work together for good to them that love the Lord”.

***5/18 Update***

Thank you to everyone that has supported us during this surreal time in our lives. It means the world to us and Josh! There have been too many extremes of reality, heart-wrenching moments, and miracles to list here, but we’d like to give you a broad overview. Keep in mind that the fact that Josh is alive right now is an extreme statistical anomaly. More than one doctor has told us that less than 1% of people survive what Josh has just been through.

On May 9th Josh suffered an aortic dissection which spread to his carotid artery. This means that there was a tear in the lining of those arteries. Josh was on a video call for work when they heard him say, “I think I need to call 911.” No one knew who called 911, and the medical staff said it was likely a co-worker, but after we looked at his phone, we found a four-minute call to 911. His doctor had a hard time believing that Josh was able to do that, but they don’t know the Josh Spears we all know. Since then, Josh has been alert enough to tell us he remembers making the call and the EMT’s arrival - miracle number 1.

Josh was taken by ambulance to St. Mary’s Hospital, where they ran a gamut of tests trying to figure out what was going on. They didn’t know his carotid artery was not providing blood to the right side of his brain. He was having a massive stroke.

Once they diagnosed the problem, he was airlifted to the University of Michigan. He was rushed into surgery. The surgery was very risky and had a low survival rate. U of M performs this surgery more than any hospital in the country, but they don’t perform many of them because most people don’t make it to the hospital alive - miracle number 2. Josh went into an 8-hour emergency open heart surgery and survived - that was miracle number 3.

After all of this, the aortic and carotid dissections, and a massive stroke, Josh is in pretty rough shape but alive. He lost blood flow to the right side of his brain for several hours, which resulted in no movement on the left side of his body. He spent the first couple of days waking up because his brain was dealing with swelling, but when he came to, he was able to speak a little. It is hard to understand, but he can speak.

He has spent the last week trying to get his brain to turn back on. He knows what happened, and he knows what he needs to do, but at this point in the process, nothing is guaranteed. As Josh said, “I’m not staying down. I’m not going out like this. I didn’t hear no bell.” The chaplain came in at one point and said, “I’m here for whatever you need, even if you just want to yell at God,” and Josh said to them, “I’m not going to be mad at God for this.” He is grateful for all that God has done for him, and he is also grateful for the power of modern medicine and the incredible doctors that have overcome the odds.

Each day Josh is making progress, but it is going to be a long fight back. After a stroke, one of the most important things that will determine a patient's success is their attitude. Josh said the other day, “No one can do it but me.” He has the right attitude. Everyone’s contributions and outpouring of support have been a crucial part of his progress - miracle number 4.

It’s not without setbacks. Yesterday, May 17th, we had a scary moment when his blood pressure dropped dramatically, and we weren’t sure how it was going to go. When a room fills up with ten medical staff members in a light jog, it can be very scary, but he made it. And then, today, Josh was able to move all five toes on his left foot. He needs to keep stacking positive days. We know he will!

That’s a brief on everything medically until now. For us, his family, this has been the most difficult period of our lives. Josh is a rock for our entire family. He is the guy you call when you’re having a bad day or making a major life decision. We are used to Josh wrestling on the floor with his boys and talking to us for hours. No one ever wants to see the fear in a child’s eyes when they walk in and see their dad nearly unable to speak and move. The doctors say seeing his family is good for him, so we are circling the wagons, but it doesn’t make it any less heartbreaking. We are choosing to look at all of the progress he has made. We are thankful he can understand us and follow along. Right now, on Thursday evening, he is fighting off an aggressive staph infection (MRSA), so that has been tough, but we are clawing back from that too. Hour by hour, we are taking it one day at a time.

Your continued support will be a game-changer for Josh, Julie, Charlie, Danny, and Benji when he gets out of the hospital. Between the airlift, the extended ICU stay, and the inpatient physical therapy, this will not be cheap. Plus, we have no idea how long before he’ll be able to return to work.

If you have anything you’d like to say to Josh or any memories you have where he helped you out, please feel free to share them in the comments or send them to one of us, and we will share them with him. Knowing you all are behind him, watching and cheering, will help him dig deep and climb up out of this bed and walk out of here one day.