EDITORIAL

A MIRACLE CHILD

The prognosis was terminal.

Tim and Terry Joseph consulted with 10 prominent cancer clinics and got the same message from each one.

There was virtually no hope for their 3-year-old son.

No one had ever survived abdominal alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma.

Flash forward 11 years.

Monroe High School’s wrestling team is locked in a tight match with Tecumseh.

Coach Don Mayes calls his 103-pounder aside and tells him the Trojans need a pin in the final match of the day if they are going to have any hope.

The freshman fights hard, but the outlook is bleak as he trails 5-0 in the final seconds of the third period. Then, suddenly, he summons a burst of energy and pins his opponent with seven seconds remaining.

The Josephs struggle to contain their emotions.

The boy being congratulated by his wrestling teammates for the clutch win is the same boy who was never supposed to survive to reach elementary school.

Lance Joseph seems to make a habit of beating the odds.

"He really is a miracle child," his mother said.

Lance doesn’t remember how old he was when doctors discovered a grapefruit-sized tumor in his stomach.

But his parents never will forget the day when they were told that their young son had cancer.

"He wouldn’t eat very much and his stomach was kind of protruding out," Tim said. "He couldn’t walk right and was quiet. He had no energy. So my wife took him to the doctor. They did an ultrasound and found the tumor."

It was a parent’s worst nightmare.

"Oh, my goodness, it was just a very scary feeling," Terry said. "We had all these questions. There were so many uncertainties. There were so many things we didn’t know."

The more they found out, the scarier it got.

Lance had a rare form of cancer with a long name and a short list of options. Doctor after doctor gave the Josephs the same sad news.

"There were not any survivors of this type of cancer at that time," Terry said.

But the Josephs were not going to give up their son without a fight.

They took Lance to Mott Children’s Hospital in Ann Arbor, where the doctors developed a plan of attack.

The boy had a total of 13 surgeries to remove tumors. The largest was removed in April, 1998.

During that first year, he was undergoing an intensive chemotherapy program.

"In the second year, they gave him low-dose chemo for 40 weeks," Terry said. "That was just an attempt to prolong his life at that point,"

The Josephs decided to just go on as normal. Lance went to preschool and tried to do all the things the other children were doing.

"We didn’t know what to do at that time, but we knew that every day we had the whole family together was special," Terry said. "We tried to enjoy every day we had as a family."

But somewhere along the line, something happened that the doctors never expected. The cancer disappeared.

"They’re just as stunned as we are," Terry said. "There was one of the doctors at UM on the cancer floor at Mott that we hadn’t seen in quite a while, probably a year and a half. Lance was there one day for a check up. He walked past us and smiled. Then, he stopped, turned around and said, ‘Lance?’ He sat down with us and had tears in his eyes. He was amazed that Lance was still around."

Of course, his parents are delighted to still have their miracle child.

"I’m always watching him," Tim said. "I don’t let him out of my sight."

After all that Lance has been through, Tim and Terry were concerned last year when their son told them that he wanted to go out for the wrestling team at Monroe Middle School.

"My friend, Asa Smith, was on the team and asked me to try it," Lance said.

His parents were not thrilled with the idea.
"At first I said, ‘No way,’" Tim said. "I didn’t want him to get hit in the stomach. And sometimes he gets real weak. I wondered what would happen if he passed out on the mat."

"It was a scary discussion," Terry added. "We were not sure about it. Neither of our other boys (Eric, 19, and Kyle, 16) had wrestled, so it was a sport that was new to us. We looked into it and called UM and talked to his doctors. They seemed to think it would be okay. ... They tell him to live life to the fullest."

But that didn’t make it any easier for his parents the first time Lance stepped on the mat.

"I had a hard time opening my eyes," she said. "I kept looking up and praying that he would be okay and that it would be over soon."
The first year was a learning experience for Lance.

"I got beat up quite a bit," he said. "But it was fun."

Would the fun continue when Lance moved from the middle school to Monroe High School this year?

"I took him to look at the high school wrestlers at the end of last year," Tim said. "I said, ‘Lance, I want you to watch this. It’s pretty rough. Are you sure you want to do this?’ He didn’t know then, but I told him that we were not going to stop him from doing anything he really wanted to do."

Lance decided he wanted to continue wrestling and worked his way into Monroe’s starting lineup.

He has a 9-15 record this year. Mayes says that is not bad for a second-year wrestler.

And besides his lack of experience, he also battles some physical disadvantages.

"My lungs are partially dead from the chemo and my heart was affected by the chemo, too," Lance said.

He doesn’t have as much stamina as some of his opponents.

"He has difficulties breathing, but he does the best he can," Terry said. "The coaches have been wonderful. They are very conscientious and take care of him. If they don’t think he’s up to par that day, they let him sit out. They are always very good about keeping us informed."

Mayes has been impressed with Lance.

"Last year at the middle school, he was a fill in. He wasn’t spectacular," the coach said. "He came out this year with a great attitude. He’s done the right things. He wants to learn. He wants to improve.

"And he has a ton of support from his family and the team."

Mayes is mindful of Lance’s physical limits.

"Because of the cancer he has real small lung capacity," he said. "He knows what he can do. If he has to stop in practice, he stops. The only thing I ask is that he push himself a little more each day. He has done that. He fights, he listens and learns. He’s come a long way."

Pushing himself a little more each day has helped Lance get stronger.

"I’ve gotten a lot better," he said. "My breathing is way better."

His parents agree that wrestling has been good for Lance.
"Everybody tells me he has a lot of potential," Tim said. "I think it’s helping him. It’s helping him with his muscles and his strength. It’s helping his heart."

And the social interaction of being on a team has helped him open up.
"He’s meeting a lot of friends," Tim said. "They call and text him. It’s a wonderful feeling to know he has that relationship with the team. He doesn’t want to miss a practice. He wants to keep going.

"He’s smiling. That’s all I look for."

His parents smile a lot when they see Lance.

"That he is here today is such a gift and miracle from God," Terry said. "I don’t know where to begin giving thanks."

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