LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18)– Everyone wants to spend the holidays at home with those they love, but for some, being home isn’t possible. A young man who has been at UK Hospital for almost a month said he has been surrounded by employees that love him.
Josh Luster, 19, from Irvine, who loves Santa and surprises. He was born with Cerebral Palsy and is usually alert and mobile, but at the end of November, Josh had a very scary day after going in for a kidney stone removal.
“Ended up bleeding, hemorrhaging. So they had to rush him here, and then they got him here and tried to do it here with intervention radiology-couldn’t get the bleeding to stop so they took him to the OR and he ended up losing his kidney,” said Josh’s dad, Scott.
Josh’s mother died in August.
“He was a momma’s boy,” said Scott.
Scott posted on Facebook asking for Santa to visit Josh. A local firefighter saw the message and called Bobby King, the UK Healthcare EMS Shift Commander.
“I put out an all call. You know, fire is family. And so we got him a Santa up here at like 6:00 that night,” said King.
Scott said that it means a lot to him to have someone put a smile on his sick son’s face.
“I know how it is being stuck in the hospital, I lost my right leg to this service, to an infection, as well as diabetes and so I know how it is to be up here by yourself,” said King.
King reached out to his supervisor and they decided to surprise Josh and make him an honorary EMS member.
“That means he’s a member of one of the best brotherhoods there is, you know first response,” said King. “Anytime he needs any of us, you know, we’ll be here for him. He’s one of our brothers. He wears the star of life just like the rest of us.”
“It’s been a long hard road and he’s fought a hard battle and he’s–but them guys are just amazing,” said Scott.
Scott says that Josh loves reading Christmas cards and that is what they plan to do on Christmas Day. If you want to send him a card to read, mail it to:
Josh Luster
Room #7.230
UK Chandler Hospital
800 Rose Street
Lexington, KY 40536
