Proceeds from Hoops Fest 16 to aid injured Marine

Semper Fi.Always faithful, the motto of the United States Marine Corps, and words that 26-year old Joshua Himan of Woodbridge lives by.Faithful to his Corps, his country and his family — even in the most trying of circumstances.In September of 2009, the young man with the ready smile, huge laugh and determination to never quit suffered life-altering injuries when his Humvee was hit by an improvised explosive device in Helmand Province, Afghanistan.The accident, as he calls it, left him paralyzed from the chest down. Josh went from the battlefield to a bed at Landstuhl Medical Center in Landstuhl, Germany, to Hunter Holmes McGuire Vet­erans Hospital in Richmond and then to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washing­ton, D.C., where he is receiv­ing outpatient care.Proceeds from this year’s Hoops Fest 16, set for March 18 at Hylton High School, will help Josh return to his childhood home in Wood­bridge — the only place he has ever lived. The money raised at Hoops Fest will help the family make up some financial shortfalls they have encountered as a result of Josh’s injuries.“Every single day, I’ve had to adapt and overcome,” Josh said in a voice ringing with resolve. “Now it’s finally set that I’m going back home, when I get there it’s going to be the first time I say ‘I made it back.’” The money from Hoops Fest will go to aid the Northern Virginia Fuller Center for Housing, Azalea Charities, the Quality of Life Foundation, Yellow Ribbon Fund, and Caulkins Construction in building an addition on to the Himan’s home so it can be accessible for Josh. The project requires about $100,000. “He’s going to be so blessed when he sees all the stuff happening at the house,” says Josh’s mom Pat Himan. “He’s not going to believe it. We don’t believe it and we’re living it.” Currently, Josh’s mom and dad, Jerry, spend nearly all their time at Fisher House, a place where families of wounded service members being taken care of at Walter Reed can stay. To help care for her son, Pat has taken a leave of absence from her job. “I’ve always been independent,” Josh says, looking at his mom during a break from physical therapy last month at Walter Reed. “I really don’t know what to say to my family. My injury impacted their lives. They didn’t ask for that. What do you say? I love them.” Josh is the oldest of the Himan’s four children. Their daughter Sarah was a standout softball player at Hylton who went on to become a four-year starter at catcher and three-time all-Big South Conference selection at Radford. The youngest sibling, Joel, is a former Cardinal District Player of the Year in baseball. Joel Himan also graduated from Hylton, as did brother Jacob. Josh said he’d always felt called to serve his country, a call that only grew louder following his graduation from Radford University with a degree in finance in 2006. “I knew I wanted to join the Marines,” he said. “I wanted to be the best of the best.” Telling his mom about his decision proved to be tough. He wanted to know what she thought — should he join the Corps or not? Pat kept her thoughts on that to herself. Instead, she told her son that decision would be his alone. “I told him I would support him no matter what he decided, but the decision was one for him to make,” she said. Josh joined the Corps in 2007, going to boot camp at Parris Island, S.C. He became an infantryman, his military occupational specialty “machine gunner.” With a huge grin, Josh recalled learning how to handle and shoot a wide range of weapons — not bad for a “city boy” from Woodbridge, he added with a twinkle in his eyes. He also spent hours in the gym, honing his body into the best physical condition of his life. “I had six-pack abs,” he said with a laugh as he patted his stomach. That dedication to physical training and fitness would serve Josh well in the years ahead. “The gym was where he thrived,” said Pat. “He was in really, really good shape. He loves, loves, loves lifting weights. He’s the happiest in the gym.” Fast forward to September of 2009. Now a lance corporal, Josh was in Afghanistan nearing the end of a seven-month deployment. With only a few weeks left for his tour, his bags were packed in anticipation of returning home and his family was expecting to receive a phone call that would tell them where and when to pick their beloved son and brother up. That was not the phone call they would receive. “It all seems far away when it all started,” says Pat. “We were all talking about that the other day. He was getting ready to come back.” The phone rang one September day shortly after Pat returned from walking with a friend. Josh had been injured, the voice said. The family would be kept informed about his condition. “I was pretty much in shock,” said Pat. “I just lost completely lost it. I couldn’t get hold of anybody.” Jerry, Sarah, Joel and Jacob were all out, at work or school. Tracking them down took some time, but within hours the family and many of their friends knew what had happened. Back in Afghanistan, Josh was in a fight for his life. “I certainly had a great sense of something being wrong,” Josh recalled of the moments before the explosion ripped apart his Humvee. He says there was a loud bang and the heavy vehicle was lifted up in the air. In the immediate aftermath of the explosion, Josh says he was more concerned about his buddies than for himself. “I knew I was fine,” he said. “I was feeling perfectly fine. I saw a little blood. Then I tried to get up. My legs wouldn’t work.” Josh says among the most traumatic parts of the accident was his realization that he couldn’t do anything to help his buddies. All he could do was listen to their cries for help. Corpsmen quickly provided Josh with emergency medical treatment on the battlefield and he was soon airlifted to Landstuhl, Germany. From there, he was transported to Bethesda Naval Medical Center, where he underwent a spinal fusion and hand surgeries. Josh has also spent time at Hunter McGuire in Richmond. “It’s a journey,” he said. “I’m still on it.” Josh’s days now are filled with hours of physical therapy designed to strengthen his shoulders and upper body. Pat says doctors initially thought Josh would regain the use of his legs after what they called spinal shock wore off, but that hasn’t happened. “I’m a lot more used to my body,” says Josh. “At first, when I was hurt, it was like, ‘I can’t do this. I can’t do that.’ Now, I’m to the point of where ‘I must do this. I must do that.’” Occupational therapist Catherine Ribick is one member of the team at Walter Reed working to help Josh recover. Bantering back and forth with her patient and always encouraging him to reach inside himself a little deeper, Ribick and Josh threw basketball and medicine balls to one another for nearly 40 minutes. “When I first saw Josh, he just wanted to play his PlayStation,” Ribick said as she watched Josh toss around the ball. Prior to that, Josh spent about 20 minutes using an adaptive bike machine that works out muscles used while doing everyday tasks such as brushing your teeth and using a computer keyboard. “It stimulates tasks for work, for leisure, based on what they want to do,” Rubick said of the machine. Josh uses his arms to rotate the machine around and around. About 65 pounds of weight resistance provides him with a good workout. “This is actually Josh’s idea. While he climbs, we change the weight resistance,” said Rubick. Josh also does stability exercises with Hero, a therapy dog at the hospital. “He literally tries to pull Josh and Josh pulls back,” explains Rubick. Rubick says that when Josh first began therapy he could only move his two thumbs. Now, he can lift both arms above his head. “I’ve come a long way,” says Josh. Pat says that from the very beginning, he’s always told her that this is just the start and there’s no telling how far he’ll go. “He’s always been a go getter,” she says. “I think he’ll accomplish anything he sets his mind to accomplish. There’s nothing he won’t be able to accomplish, in my opinion. “He’d love to have a family some day. I hope those dreams come true.”

Fisher House Foundation ranked a Four Star Charity for twenty-one consecutive years.