Athlete of the Month at Pleasant Grove High School

Athlete of the Month

Pleasant Grove High School

Inclusion, Love & Joy

While Joshua was attending Pleasant Grove High School, he truly thrived on the love and understanding and inspired teaching he received.  I will always love the many special friends who were and still are incredible blessings in our lives because of their love and sacrifice for Joshua.  In fact, I was so thankful for the lovely lunch ladies at the school, that I wrote a thank you post for them:

http://joshuasheartfullofhugs.blogspot.com/2014/02/the-lovely-lunch-ladies-at-pleasant.html


Joshua's incredible teachers, Lisa Clark and John Kernan and incredible aides, made sure Joshua was involved in school activities and adapted sports.  Well, one day in 2002, Pleasant Grove High School called and invited me to an assembly because they were going to honor Joshua.  I quickly called my brother Doug and asked him to come with me, and we hurried down to the school.  We were thankfully able to sit in the first couple of rows on the right side of the auditorium waiting for Joshua's special award.  And Doug was ready to capture this special moment on film, which he perfectly did!

As the assembly began, the student leader announced the introduction of this month's "Athlete of the Month" ... Joshua Eisenstat! I was overwhelmed with this special honor!!

As Joshua started to appear on the back part of the stage, one student helped him walk out toward the front of the stage (which is always a challenge because he can be very resistant), but once Joshua heard the student body very loudly cheering and clapping for Joshua, he jumped up and down with his wonderful smile and pure JOY!  

And the student body cheered and clapped for Joshua for a very long time!  It was an indescribable moment of joy and acceptance and love for Joshua!

He did not understand the nature of the award, but he definitely understood that he was LOVED by the students and faculty at Pleasant Grove High School.  He was so HAPPY!!

Joshua was an incredible athlete in every way!  He loved and cheered for his own team  And he always loved and cheered for the other team as well.  Everyone mattered!  He was enthusiastic and happy!  He always did the best he could.  He usually did not earn the gold medal, but he always placed first place with his incredible HEART!

I was an incredibly proud and happy Mom, and like Joshua, filled with joy and love!  

With all of my heart, I thank 

Pleasant Grove High School, 

for their recognition of my very special athlete 

and son!

#athleteofthemonth, #pghs

Joshua Wins a Membership at Gold's Gym!

Joshua Wins a Membership at Gold's Gym!

As I picked up the phone I was surprised to hear a man ask to speak to Joshua Eisenstat.  There were many phone calls for Jeremy, Jamie, Jacob and Janson, but definitely not for Joshua.  So I let the caller know that I was his Mom and asked what he needed.  He asked again to speak to Joshua.  I said that Joshua couldn't come to the phone.  He wanted to know he if Joshua was home.  I said that he was but that he really couldn't talk on the phone.  And the caller said that he just wanted to let Joshua know that he had won a Gold's Gym Membership by entering a contest and needed to tell Joshua. I expressed my surprise since Joshua would not have been able to enter a contest.  He told me that Joshua had written down his name and information.  I then told him that Joshua could only write a line on a piece of paper so I didn't think he had entered the contest.  It was a fun conversation, but I was a little baffled at how Joshua had entered this contest.  I also knew that Gold's Gym probably did not want Joshua hanging out at their gym!  He would probably throw some of the barbells for sure!


Anyway, the man said that since Joshua wouldn't be able to use the membership, that maybe I would like it!  I told him that Joshua was actually my own home gym!  (And he really, really was!)

Anyway, I had fun telling the story at dinner that night.  But I noticed that Jeremy was a little quiet and serious.  He finally spoke up and tentatively admitted that he was the one that signed Joshua up for the contest!!  Jeremy really wanted to win a membership at Gold's Gym, but you had to be 18 years old to sign up, and since Joshua was 18 that solved his problem!

We all got a good chuckle over that one.  

Joshua was the best gym I ever, ever had. He was my weights and my cardio every day!  And he was definitely the most entertaining!  

The Flying Pumpkin - A Little Halloween Story!

One of Jamie's pumpkin carvings!

The Flying Pumpkin - A Little Halloween Story!

Halloween with Joshua was always a treat!  Just think -- I was able to go trick or treating with him for 22 years!!  He loved people and he loved being able to knock on doors and get candy his entire life!  But of course he would want to go inside each house, so we would have to persuade him to keep going to the next house, and the next!  We usually were the slowest trick or treaters ever!  And many times he was on my back between houses to help him get to the next house.  I cherish those piggy back rides!

And then having him help pass out candy was an adventure in itself.  He loved 

Our cute neighbor Candy Jackson helping Joshua get candy!

answering the doors and hearing the kids yell "trick or treat!"  And he loved passing out candy!  You never knew if you would get one piece, or an entire handful!!  However, an unsuspecting trick or treater could be surprised as he was walking away from our door as Joshua would grab one more handful and use that amazing throwing arm of his, and throw it as they walked away.  It was like having our own pinata all night long!

 But one Halloween season brings a special memory as I had taken all five kids to choose their very own pumpkins at a local pumpkin farm.  It is so fun to watch my young children carefully and painstakingly try to find the perfect pumpkin!  With hundreds to choose from, this was quite a long process.  But we left the pumpkin patch with each child very happy and excited carrying the perfect pumpkin they had each found.  Joshua, Jeremy, Jamie, Jacob and Janson all had a pumpkin!! Hurray!!  

 As we neared our house, I was ready to make the final left turn into our cul-de-sac, just the same time as my friend and neighbor was pulling out.  As we passed, I rolled down my window to say hi.  And that's all it took!  Suddenly, a pumpkin went flying out the window and began rolling quickly down the hill!  And then cute Jamie screaming and crying that it was her pumpkin!  It was definitely a traumatic moment.  There was no doubt that she believed she could never find another one like it!

We waited anxiously for Jeremy to return.  And he did!  Holding Jamie's pumpkin in one complete piece, with only one crack in the pumpkin.  We were overjoyed.  We couldn't believe it!  Jeremy saved the day!!

The flying pumpkin was saved!

My Shopping Buddy

My Shopping Buddy

As I walk into the grocery store, I miss my Joshua boy!  He was such a fun shopping buddy!  But being a fun buddy certainly didn't mean it was easy, but it was always an adventure about to happen for sure! 

In fact, I never knew how long it would take me to even get Joshua to the car to go somewhere.  If he wasn't ready to go, at his height, it was quite the coaxing and patient game for sure!  And that certainly would carry on throughout the day!  

I remember one shopping experience when he was sitting in the cart.  Although he was about age 12, he was still fairly small for his age and I could pick him up and sit him in the back of the cart.  But the biggest problem was that I needed to load my cart with groceries!  Since Joshua absolutely LOVED to throw things, I had to strategically place things around the cart, on the side of the cart and under the cart and even hold a few things!  But as I realized that his arms were getting longer and many more groceries being thrown, I discovered that if I placed several rolls of paper towels in the cart within his reach, he would focus on those instead of the other groceries.  So there we would go and try to shop, walking down the aisles as Joshua and I would play "basketball" with those paper towels!   I would try to catch these paper towels that would go flying out of the cart!  And cheer when he made 2 points!!  And then we would certainly surprise a shopper or two, as paper towels would go flying in their carts to score 2 points there as well!  What sweet memories as we would cheer and shop and greet, give high fives to strangers and cheer some more!  It is definitely not the quickest way to get through the grocery store, but it most certainly was the most entertaining!  

And my incredible kids Jeremy, Jamie, Jacob and Janson were also so quick to help Joshua, help me, and give Joshua a few of those five fives to get us through the store!

There was a story to tell every time we shopped!  As he grew, however, he eventually did become too big to put in the cart!  At 6'1" that is no surprise!  This definitely caused some creativity to now get him through the store.  We had many episodes of temper tantrums in the aisle, running after him when he escaped, more items thrown, or simply not being able to shop.  But then a wonderful discovery was made!  Joshua loved to stand on the first bar at the very front of the grocery cart!  And he would actually stay there!  But he needed a little help with his stability, so I would place my arms around him so that I could steer the cart, and keep him standing at the same time!  But that gave him an extra six inches of height!  And so the visual of Joshua and I going through the store with Joshua about a foot taller than me, and me about a foot leaning to the right, always makes me smile.  What a joy he was, so much taller than everyone we passed, smiling, laughing and saying hi to everyone, while I would anchor my arms around him, lean my head way to the right so I could see where I was going, and steer our way carefully, yet quickly, through those many aisles.  Thankfully I never ran into anyone, and we did meet most of the people we passed!  I loved feeling the kindness of strangers and I loved sharing these precious, and precarious moments with him.  What sweet memories I have!

I can just see him now, beaming with joy, as he "helped" his mom to grocery shop!  
I love the memories of these very adventurous shopping trips, and treasure them always!

Epilepsy and Seizures - Scriptural Inspiration and Strength

2003 - My Five Incredible Children at Janson's Baptism
always loving Joshua!

Epilepsy and Seizures - 

Scriptural  Inspiration and Strength

I don't often fully explain the depth of the difficulty and anguish of watching my precious Joshua struggle with the pain and heartache of epilepsy.  I will go into some minimal detail of this journey at this time, but the last five years of his life, he had an average of 2 to 5 seizures a day (ranging from petit mal (absence) seizures, atonic (drop) seizures and tonic-clock (grand mal) seizures.  Since he grew to be 6'1" tall, the drop seizures were very dangerous, extremely frightening, and the grand mal seizures long and excruciating, and these seizures had us on pins and needles many days knowing he could drop fast in a split second!

I loved helping my boy!

He had multiple injuries from this daily challenge of epilepsy.  He had a higher chance of any type of seizures in the morning, but often had them in the middle of the night.  In fact, at one point I finally slept in the same large king bed with him because he would thrash around so violently that I needed to be holding and helping him the moment the seizure began.  My years as a single Mom were spent pleading and praying for help, which help I received time and time again from family, neighbors, church friends, and strangers.  We spent many tender moments together as I held him, protected him, comforted him and talked to him.  Although many exhausting nights were part of our life together, my love and awe of Joshua grew watching him work through the excruciating, painful and confusing episode of each seizure.  

Uncle Mark and Joshua taking a drive with broken teeth from a recent seizure.

His injuries were heartbreaking - from broken jaws to gashes in  his face to broken teeth.  A violent grand mal seizure could occur at any time ... from rivers to bathtubs, grocery stores to cars and the slide at the park to the spectator benches at sporting events.  He was in constant danger and we were in constant fear.  My son Jeremy's statement after one of these harder seizures tugged at my very heart strings when he said, "Mom, these are sooo hard."  

And the seizures were so very, very difficult and heartbreaking.

I am so thankful for my amazing family and extended family, friends and neighbors, church friends and strangers who were ready to help, lift, strengthen and serve at any given moment.  I am in awe of my incredible children - Jeremy, Jamie, Jacob and Janson - who throughout their young life were patient with his aggressiveness, loved him through his hard moments, strengthened him with his love, and showed maturity and love to their special brother that was beyond their years.  They are my heros!

But what I remember shining through was Joshua's beautiful smile as the seizure would begin to subside, and the fog and pain of each seizure would clear and the light return to his eyes.  And I remember the most precious word from Joshua as he would blurt out "hi".  It was then I knew he would once again, be okay.

Joshua at the Pine Valley River, a spot where one seizure almost took him into the river!

Although I do believe his severe autism and mental delays shielded him from the fear that would surely have been with him each day if he understood what each minute, hour or day could hold.

But when Elder Jeffrey R. Holland spoke at LDS General Conference in April 2013 about the family of an afflicted child, the words from the Bible, and the words from Elder Holland spoke understanding, empathy, love and compassion to my mother heart.  We lived this very scripture story.  

Thank you for lifting, blessing and strengthening me with these beautiful words below:

On one occasion Jesus came upon a group arguing vehemently with His disciples. When the Savior inquired as to the cause of this contention, the father of an afflicted child stepped forward, saying he had approached Jesus’s disciples for a blessing for his son, but they were not able to provide it. With the boy still gnashing his teeth, foaming from the mouth, and thrashing on the ground in front of them, the father appealed to Jesus with what must have been last-resort desperation in his voice:

“If thou canst do any thing,” he said, “have compassion on us, and help us.

“Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.

“And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.”¹

This man’s initial conviction, by his own admission, is limited. But he has an urgent, emphatic desire in behalf of his only child. We are told that is good enough for a beginning. “Even if ye can no more than desire to believe,” Alma declares, “let this desire work in you, even until ye believe.”² With no other hope remaining, this father asserts what faith he has and pleads with the Savior of the world, “If thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us.”³ I can hardly read those words without weeping. The plural pronoun us is obviously used intentionally. This man is saying, in effect, “Our whole family is pleading. Our struggle never ceases. We are exhausted. Our son falls into the water. He falls into the fire. He is continually in danger, and we are continually afraid. We don’t know where else to turn. Can you help us? We will be grateful for anything—a partial blessing, a glimmer of hope, some small lifting of the burden carried by this boy’s mother every day of her life.”

“If thou canst do any thing,” spoken by the father, comes back to him “If thou canst believe,” spoken by the Master.⁴

“Straightway,” the scripture says—not slowly nor skeptically nor cynically but “straightway”—the father cries out in his unvarnished parental pain, “Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.” In response to new and still partial faith, Jesus heals the boy, almost literally raising him from the dead, as Mark describes the incident.

Although Joshua was not healed from his epilepsy during his lifetime, I do know that he had many angels protecting him, surrounding him, loving him and strengthening him.  I know that he felt extra love during these excruciating moments.  I know that through the tears and anguish, our prayers were answered as we were given emotional healing, additional strength and comfort and love, even more than we will understand fully in this life.

https://www.lds.org/ensign/2013/05/lord-i-believe.p1?lang=eng
#epilepsyawarenessday2018
#epilepsyawareness

Memory Monday - Heaven is Cheering You On!

An early bonding moment at Zion National Park!

Memory Monday

I miss my sweet Joshua boy and my wonderful Dad every day.  In thinking about a recent talk by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, I love to think of these two buddies, Joshua and my Dad together again in heaven, cheering us on every day!  

Keep trying. Keep trusting. 

Keep believing. Keep growing. 

Heaven is cheering you on today, 

tomorrow, and forever.

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2016/04/tomorrow-the-lord-will-do-wonders-among-you?lang=eng

Joshua loved his Papa!

Papa loved his Joshua!

River buddies at Zion National Park!

Wheelchair buddies!

Pure love and joy!

Piggy Back Rides - Even as an Adult!

Piggy Back Rides

Even as an Adult!

Uncle Doug or Shrub!

Many sweet and fun memories throughout Joshua's life was when he would ride on my back, relatives' backs, friends' backs and dare I say, probably a few strangers' backs.  He had no clue that he was 6' 1" with very long, lanky legs!!  And if he wanted a ride, well then he definitely would find the closest willing person.

On a more serious note, I did have to carry him on my back for a variety of other reasons.  If he was just too tired, he would flop down on the ground, and hew as just done walking.  Period!  

If he had a difficult seizure, he needed time to recover, so many times I was able to hoist him on my back to get him from the seizure location to a safer place.

And of course, if he had a difficult tantrum, or other behavior, sometimes that was the only way to divert his attention, or get him somewhere safer.  If you have ever seen one of these, you might remember some pretty serious hits from Joshua, but those did not bother me.  I knew it was his frustration at life, and not at me.  I called them "love taps."

One of my favorite scriptures in the Book of Mormon is Mosiah 24:14-15.  When the Nephites were feel burdened, they were told, “Lift up your heads and be of good comfort for I know of the covenant which you have made unto me, and I will covenant with my people and deliver them out of bondage.  And I will also ease the burdens which are put upon your shoulders that even you cannot  feel them upon your backs.”  That’s why I could hold him on my back.  He was not heavy.  He was not a burden.  And I loved doing it.
http://joshuasheartfullofhugs.blogspot.com/2013/01/funeral-talk-excerpts-by-joshuas-mom.html

I loved carrying Joshua on my back!

Uncle Mark - a front piggy back - A Classic  Moment!

This is how to get Joshua to get him to take his t-ball picture!

Even on Doug's wedding day!

And cute Aunt Debbie was about one foot shorter than Joshua!

My wonderful family was always there to give a back to Joshua.  This was an incredible, sweet blessing to me, and to Joshua.  Here are some of my favorite piggyback photos.