Joshua's Generous Gift
At just 5 years old, Joshua Solis knows his way to the Children’s Orthopaedic Center, notices when kids have casts like he did, and refers to Children’s Hospital Los Angeles as “my hospital.” That’s no surprise, since he’s been treated by the Musculoskeletal Tumor Program at CHLA since he was 9 months old.
Joshua was born with multiple hereditary exostoses (MHE), a rare genetic condition in which lumps develop on the bones. The lumps cause pain and limit movement, and may trigger abnormalities such as limb-length discrepancies. In Josh’s case, “his bumps hurt,” he says, on his knees, shoulders, ribs and wrists.
Last year, Joshua underwent another MHE surgery on his wrist—and because of the size and location of the growths on his bones, it is highly likely Joshua will have to come back for more surgeries.
“Currently, there is no treatment for exostoses other than surgery if the growths become symptomatic or painful,” explains Mary, Joshua’s mother, who has spent a lifetime dealing with the same condition.
“Having the same condition can be a mixed blessing,” says Mary. “On one hand, it seems to help Joshua to see that I too have scars from bones surgeries. … On the other, it is difficult to watch Joshua go through surgeries, and I sometimes feel sad or even guilty for passing the condition on to him.”
Because of Mary’s experience, she understands the importance of maintaining normalcy and teaching resilience in Joshua’s life—and it shows.
“Joshua just started kindergarten and will mention that no one else seems to have bumps like he does, but otherwise, he is just so busy enjoying school and making new friends that he seems to not let his condition hold him back,” Mary says.
He is also not letting his MHE hold him back from giving to CHLA’s Literally Healing Program, which helps him and many other kids get through hospital stays with the power of books.
“Helping the program seemed to serve as a good alternative focus for him during his visits,” says Mary. “On the morning of Joshua’s surgery, instead of thinking or talking about things like ‘the medicine’ or ‘those tiger jammies,’ he talked about getting books for other kids to help them, just like it helped him.”
“I love books,” says Joshua, whose favorites are any of the ‘Cars’ or ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ series. “I love stories. I can talk to my friends with them and they can like the books too. We like to get to the last page of the book.”
Last year, when Joshua held his first official book drive, he managed to collect almost 500 books, over $1,000 in gift cards and more than $200 from Fresh Brothers, a local pizzeria that donated proceeds from a day’s sales.
“People started asking what Joshua needed and we told them the best way to help him would be to donate a new book or gift card,” says Mary. “That’s when the emails and Facebook posts started spreading and were noticed by the city of Calabasas, our hometown.”
This year, Joshua is at it again, but on a grander scale. The kick-off festival, which was held at Founders Hall in Calabasas on Dec. 2, included fun activities such as crafts, face painting, and live music. But the main part of the event included guest readings—all who generously donated their time to help show Joshua’s love for the Literally Healing Program—from Jerry O’ Connell, Taye Diggs, Matthew and Benjamin Royer, Daniella Monet, Wendy Braun, Josh Coxx, and even a video message from World Series baseball player Mike Moustakas. Local firefighters, school officials and teachers also shared their time and read books to enthralled kids and families. Joshua is still not done as there is also a week-long book drive held from December 2-9.
“Joshua and our community really knocked this event out of the park!,” says Mary. “The event was at least six times bigger than last year’s. It has been tremendous. Everyone is already looking forward to next year and coming together again in support of the power of books and Literally Healing.”
Aside from giving back, Joshua is just like any other 5-year-old who is making new friends in kindergarten and finding a love for sports, especially baseball.
“He absolutely loves baseball and has a great time at his games,” says Mary. “He wants to be a baseball player when he grows up!”
It’s safe to say that with Josh’s determined and kind spirit, and with his mom, family, community and CHLA on his side, Joshua will accomplish just about anything—despite his condition.
