UPDATE - MAY 25, 2018 (from Chelsea)
We're finally here!! We arrived in Boston a week ago and with the help of Josh's Dad and sister we've settled in nicely to our little apartment. The weather is beautiful, the people are friendly and the food is delicious. Best of all... the medical team is INCREDIBLE! We know we are in the best hands with Dr. Liebsch at MGH (Massachusetts General Hospital). We've had a week of pre-radiation scans (CT, bone scans, MRI etc). As many of you have already seen from our facebook post, we unfortunately received some disturbing news. Dr. Liebsch sat us down and broke the news that all of his MRI scans are completely useless because they discovered a small piece of metal in Josh's orbital bone. This piece of metal was left in Josh's bone after his surgery in Hong Kong. This news is completely upsetting and shocking as he has already had two MRI scans done since his surgery and the damage could have been devastating. It is a complete MIRACLE that the metal didn't rip out of his head during the scans... PRAISE GOD!! This unfortunately has postponed his proton radiation treatment which means we will be in Boson longer than expected. The metal makes it impossible for them to see a clear picture of the tumor, which is very much still there. Josh was rushed into another surgery today to remove the piece of metal. The surgery was successful and they removed everything. If the healing process goes smoothly we will hopefully be able to start radiation as soon as possible. We all feel quite frustrated by this setback and having to deal with the consequences of the mistake made by the HK team. We didn't expect to be in surgery again but we're moving forward the best we can. Let's just say we are all very happy to be in Boston for the rest of his treatment. Thank you so much to everyone for the support we've received. Despite the extra stress emotionally, financially and physically (for Josh), we're staying strong.
LOVE, PRAYERS AND SUPPORT FOR THE WONGNAKS
Josh and Chelsea will be leaving Hong Kong and travelling to Boston for two months where Josh will receive proton radiation for a very rare type of cancer called Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma.
The Wong's have been completely blown away by the outpouring of love, prayers and support from family and friends all over the world. A great number of wonderful people have offered to help and support them as they navigate this challenging journey ahead. They will be travelling from Hong Kong to Boston from May 18 - July 23. This is how you can love on them!
PRAYER
Josh & Chelsea both believe prayer is the most powerful, important and effective resource we have and also the primary way they would like to be supported. Their specific prayer requests will be updated on this page as they make their way through treatment. Most importantly:
1. Pray for complete and total healing over Josh. That there is no trace of cancer or sickness left in his body and that the treatment will be 100% effective.
2. Pray for protection against any harmful side effects of radiation and for his healthy cells and tissue to thrive.
LOVE & SUPPORT
The Wong's would like to share that they feel completely overwhelmed by the offerings of financial support from so many people. The hospital has given them a discount on the treatment and they feel very blessed that they are able to cover the cost of treatment. Thank you to everyone who reached out and offered support.
Although they are not in desperate need of financial help, we know medical expenses can stack up and as their friends, we feel very strongly that aside from standing with them in prayer, we also would love to bless them financially - not only as a token of our love to them, but also to be able to partner with them on this journey to kick some cancer butt! Our heart is that they would not only ‘survive’ this ordeal, but that they would THRIVE in and through this experience. We can imagine that many of you may share the same heart as we do, so if you would like to bless Josh and Chelsea financially, you can do so on this page or contact us (Juliana Young and Kristy Tong) directly at [email protected] for details on how to give.
HKD 4,000 07/10/2018 12:00:00 AM UTC
HKD 750 07/02/2018 12:00:00 AM UTC
HKD 7,840 06/27/2018 12:00:00 AM UTC
This is just one small gift from us. We know that your journey will be a stretch, and we simply want to express our love, support, and our hope to make the journey a bit easier. May you and Chelsea grow inseparable - unbreakable in your love as the days go by. God provides his children with generous, glorious fruit in each trial they endure & overcome. May you sense, embrace, and cherish God’s presence in the journey. Thank you for allowing us to come along your journey, to cheer you on, to support you, to pray for you, but most of all to be encouraged by your love for each other and your love for God.
HKD 1,000 06/12/2018 12:00:00 AM UTC
Sending you both lots of love, proud of your strength and resilience. Thanks for sharing your story with us all. x
HKD 1,000 06/02/2018 09:33:09 AM UTC
USD 100 05/28/2018 09:14:02 PM UTC
Hoping this will help & sending prayers throughout your journey.
USD 50 05/28/2018 03:31:21 PM UTC
This is the time where I wish I was a gazillionaire bro (can still happen) haha. Hopefully this can grab you guys a few drinks out there or a nice meal...or take it to Vegas and bet it all on black! Black is always a good bet #WakandaForever 😂
USD 100 05/26/2018 11:36:01 AM UTC
HKD 2,000 05/17/2018 12:00:00 AM UTC
USD 500 05/16/2018 02:33:32 PM UTC
Backing you all the way as you brave the journey ahead. Your testimony already is a joy to see and know God will use your story !
AUD 100 05/14/2018 11:02:45 PM UTC
HKD 1,000 05/14/2018 12:00:00 AM UTC
USD 100 05/14/2018 12:00:00 AM UTC
USD 50 05/14/2018 12:00:00 AM UTC
For when you need cocktails and pizza in Boston.
HKD 1,000 05/12/2018 12:00:00 AM UTC
THE STORY (written by Joshua & Chelsea)
Two years ago Josh began noticing a throbbing pain behind his right eye and began to look into it. He saw two eye doctors and one brain specialist, who claimed he was fine and gave him some medication for the discomfort. Fast forward two years and he's still experiencing the throbbing pain and now his eye is starting to bulge out. In March, just a few days after his 40th Birthday, doctors found a very large tumor behind his right eye. He was scheduled for immediate scans and a biopsy, only to discover it was the worst case scenario. He was diagnosed with Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma of the lacrimal gland (tear duct). An incredibly rare and difficult to treat cancer. The tumor was quite large and had already eaten a lot of tissue, muscle and bone separating his eye from his brain. We found an incredible surgeon and were given the option to either remove his entire eye and the orbit surrounding his eye (basically 1/4 of his face) including part of the protective covering of his brain. This would basically leave Josh quite disfigured for the rest of his life. The other option was to save the eye and remove MOST of the tumor. Two days later he went into a 5 hour successful surgery and they removed most of the tumor. Unfortunately they also needed to remove a lot of tissue and some muscles, which means Josh no longer has function in his right eye. This was unfortunately expected but we know miracles happen and still have hope that one day he will be able to use his right eye.
Unfortunately ACC is a very difficult cancer to treat and is not responsive to chemotherapy. Radiation is our best option to get rid of the rest of the cancer and prevent any spreading. The tumor is still deep inside and touching the outside of his brain. After a lot of research we discovered a type of radiation called proton beam radiation. This type of radiation has been proven to work well on ACC and has much less harmful side effects. Unfortunately it's not available in Hong Kong and we've been searching globally to find a great radiologist that has experience with lacrimal gland ACC. PRAISE GOD we were accepted to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston for 8 weeks of proton radiation treatment with Dr. Norbert Liebsch. This was a huge win for us and we feel so good about going! We leave Hong Kong May 18th and will be gone until July 23rd.
Josh is an absolute WARRIOR and his positive attitude has been inspiring amidst some seriously scary news.
He feels that although this has been incredibly quick and quite shocking, the journey has been amazing. Tons of miracles and healing have been happening along the way and he's more confident than ever that even better things are going to come out of this difficult and bumpy ride.
There are SO MANY incredible people who have been walking through this with us and we just cannot thank you enough from the bottom of our hearts. Life is not meant to be lived alone and this is a major reality check to hug people, forgive people and tell them you love them. We couldn't have done this without all of the beautiful people in our lives and community.
This has been a really tough couple of months but we have faith and complete trust in what God has in store for us.
