‘I’m so proud of my hero’ Miracle baby Josh is still shining bright at 16
YOU had better come and kiss your little boy goodbye.” Those were the 10 devastating words that doctors uttered to Sarah Morton in hospital, just two days after she gave birth to her son Joshua.
She said: “I can remember just screaming and running down the corridor.”
His heart had stopped beating and he was described as medically dead.
Clinicians managed to revive him but warned that he might never walk or talk due to the damage that had been done.
Fast-forward 16 years, and she is bursting with pride about all that her “miracle boy” has achieved against all odds.
Hundreds of people in St George will have heard Josh’s voice during hard lockdown, floating around his neighbourhood every Thursday after Clap for Carers. The teenager, who has liver disease and learning disabilities, sang in his front garden every week to thank the NHS for all it has done for him. His mum
Sarah said: “In the turmoil of Covid, Josh has made his dreams come true.
“He’s been recognised for his voice, and to him, that’s the best thing ever. In the eye of this storm that’s going on around the world, he shone through.”
She said it was “absolutely surreal” seeing him up on the stage they build in the garden, adding: “I cried every time.
“He has these mountains he has to climb every day with his health, and to think he wants to do things to cheer other people up is just unique. By the end of it [Clap for Carers], people were coming from all over Bristol to hear him.” He entertained neighbours with covers of everything from The Wurzels to Take That, ending with Frank Sinatra’s I Did it My Way.
Josh set himself a target of raising £500 for Wallace and Gromit’s Grand Appeal, the dedicated charity for Bristol Royal Hospital for Children.
It is a cause close to his heart, and he has raised more than £1,600 so far, with donations still being accepted on his fundraising page.
Formerly a pupil at Hanham Woods Academy, Josh is now at SGS College in Filton studying performing arts.
Sarah said she is in awe of the strength he has shown throughout his own health struggles, particularly after he was diagnosed with autoimmune hepatitis of the liver.
She said: “He was really poorly as a baby, and he has his challenges every day even now. The day we got told he had autoimmune disease, my legs gave way and I literally broke down. He looked at me and went ‘mum, it’s just a case of taking some tablets, I’ll get over it’, as if it was no problem at all. He inspires me every day. He really is my hero.”
I cried every time Josh sang. By the end of Clap for Carers people were coming from all over Bristol to hear him.
Mum Sarah