Joslynn Taught Her First Lesson

By Del Duduit

Little Joslynn wants to be a teacher when she grows up.

She has already passed one difficult test on her way to earning her credentials.

On Aug. 3, 2017, she was school shopping for shoes with her mother, Jodi, at Scioto Shoe Mart – a place I love.  Joslynn was recovering from strep throat and had a stubborn belly ache. She had been on antibiotics for ten days but still felt bad.

Her grandmother was also with them and suggested a trip to the emergency room.

They waited three hours to see a doctor. A CT scan revealed a serious problem.

“We thought maybe a kidney stone or something like that at first,” Jodi said.

The physician took them to a room and showed them the picture – a frightening image uncloaked a large mass on her liver.

No time was wasted, and Joslynn was loaded into an ambulance and immediately taken to Children’s Hospital in Columbus, two hours away.

“They wanted us there, like yesterday,” her step-father Aaron said. “It was that serious.”

When Joslynn got to Children’s, she was taken back for more tests and biopsies.

“A million things run through your mind,” Jodi admitted. “From the worst scenario – which was confirmed by the end of the day.”

Hepatoblastoma. Cancer.

A scary thing for anyone, let alone a nine-year-old girl.

The definition: a rare and abnormal tissue growth that originates in cells in the liver. It is the most common cancerous liver tumor in early childhood.

Just like that – your world can be turned upside down.

“Our life was just a swirl,” Aaron said. “Nothing else mattered.”

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And nothing else should matter. A job is important, but it’s not everything. Sports is fun but does not mean anything in the grand scheme of life. Politics is a necessary evil but has no purpose when your child is sick.

But a family – that’s important.

A community – that’s meaningful.

A church – that has a purpose.

And the Lord – He’s all you need.

“But my God shall supply all your needs according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” PHILIPPIANS 4: 19

Joslynn attended Rubyville Community Church this past weekend to a rousing standing ovation. Balloons in the pew signaled where she sat. Signs all over the congregation told her that families, a community, and a church prayed for her. And flowers whispered to her she was loved and missed.

She received her full liver transplant in October of last year. She has made wonderful progress, and doctors are amazed at her recovery.

She attended her first full week of school last week and admitted she missed her friends.

“Hospitals are boring,” she said. “There is nothing to do there but wait.”

She told me she learned how to be a doctor during her ordeal, listening intently to conversations the family had with her physicians.  Even at her young age, she understood the possible ramifications of her diagnosis – which included death.

The odds of a child being diagnosed with her form of cancer are one in a million. Her prognosis for a full recovery after a ten-hour surgery is excellent right now.

She was supposed to be in intensive care for five days – -but she was released in two.

Her wound was supposed to be open for five days, but it was closed up sooner and sent home.

Her progression has been amazing, her dad said.

“She is extremely tougher than we thought she would be,” Aaron said. “She was brave and positive through it all.”

Little Joslynn wants to be a teacher when she grows up.

I think that’s a good choice. She has already instructed a family, a community, and local churches how to depend on God for a miracle.

She has successfully taught her first lesson —  on courage.

“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” 2 TIMOTHY 16: 13

Let me know your thoughts on this post.

Watch for a related story coming soon by Whitney Ward on Southern Ohio Christian Voice at http://www.sohiochristianvoice.com.

Del Duduit is an award-winning writer and author who lives in Lucasville, Ohio with his wife, Angie. They attend Rubyville Community Church. Follow his blog at delduduit.com/blog and his Twitter @delduduit. He is represented by Cyle Young of Hartline Literary Agency.