Family spends Harborfest weekend raising money for son with brain cancer

Two blocks from the crowds, rides and fried Oreos of this year's Oswego Harborfest, Joshua Brown and his stepdad, John Ford, chat quietly under a tent in their front yard.

Although Oswego's biggest summer celebration is in full swing, they're spending Saturday afternoon selling T-shirts to raise money to bring Brown to and from Upstate Medical University's hospital.

Brown was diagnosed with anaplastic ependymoma, a rare form of brain cancer, when he was 10 years old. He's now a soft-spoken 15-year-old with faint scars lining the left side of his head.

"It was devastating," said Brown, about first hearing his diagnosis.

By mid-afternoon on July 27, Ford and Brown had sold 17 "Joshua's Wish" T-shirts in front of their house on 36 W. Seneca St. The money pays for gas to bring Brown to Syracuse for check-ups and treatments.

"The trip to Syracuse every day costs us $20," said Ford, Brown's stepdad. "We're not making a profit off the shirts. The gas is our main concern and the gas prices keep going up and up. We don't have relief. It's a tiring fight to keep our fire going."

Ford set up a "Joshua's Wish" Walk-A-Thon in Oswego's Franklin Square Park last month, but he accidentally scheduled it the same day as Paige's Butterfly Run, which drew 1,651 runners to its 5K race. Joshua's Walk drew 36 people.

"Joshua's Wish" is to visit Disney World again with his family. His first visit was arranged by the Make-A-Wish Foundation when he was 13, and it was an "amazing" experience for him.

"My wish is spend time with my sisters, my brother and my parents," he said.

Brown sits calmly in the tent. He takes medicine several times a day to control seizures and stomach pains. His head doesn't hurt much today, he said.

Brown began getting headaches when he was playing football as a child. His mother thought he was being hit too hard during the football games, or that his helmet was to blame.

When Brown went to Syracuse for a brain scan, they found a softball-sized tumor growing in his head. Although surgeons removed as much of the tumor as they could, it grew back. Now the tumors have spread down his neck and spine, Ford said.

A passing woman stops by the tent.

"Are you the one who's sick?" she asks, gripping Brown's shoulder. "I had breast cancer. You keep fighting it, OK? You keep going."

Brown nods.

"I hope it goes away," he said.

Buy T-shirts or donate to "Joshua's Wish"

Where: 36 W. Seneca St.
When: Harborfest weekend
How much: $10 for one T-shirt, $18 for two.

Harborfest Festivities

The 26th annual Oswego Harborfest runs from July 25-28 and included food, rides and live music featuring this year's headliners Blue ?yster Cult and Foghat.
Where: Breitbeck Park and Franklin Square Park, Oswego
When: July 25-28. See the full schedule of events at oswegoharborfest.com.
How much: Free to attend.

Source: http://www.syracuse.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2013/07/oswego_harborfest_cancer_survivor.html

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