It’s every parent’s nightmare: to send their children to school and have something bad happen to them.
Spare a thought then for parents of 17-year-old Josh Gray, who went to the nurse’s office at Dawson High School in Pearland, Texas, after experiencing a stomach ache.
Two short hours later, the teen, who was by all accounts an active, healthy young man, was dead …
When 17-year-old Josh Gray began to develop a stomach ache that left him feeling unwell at school, he did the responsible thing and headed straight for the school nurse.
Tragically, just two hours later he was dead. Doctors say the artery running to Josh’s pancreas ruptured, with his pancreas following suit shortly after. The bleeding couldn’t be stemmed or stopped in the aftermath, and the teen died.
“He went from going to school yesterday morning — normal day, happy — to having a stomach ache, to within two hours not being with us anymore,” Laurie Gray, Josh’s mother, told KHOU.
Posted by Laurie Gray Armbruster on Thursday, March 1, 2018
Before his untimely death, Josh was planning on a mission trip. In the wake of the tragedy, however, his friends planned to participate in his memory.
“Josh loved everyone for who they were,” said his friend Austin Hurst.
“I’m loud and obnoxious; he loved that about me. I mean, he loved all of us for exactly who we were. And that was the best part about being with Josh; you could be you.”
Josh’s loved ones, meanwhile, have set up a GoFundMe Page to help cover the expenses of his sudden death. Part of their fundraising will go towards finding and curing rare underlying diseases. The page in question has already managed to raise in excess of $35,000.
Posted by Laurie Gray Armbruster on Wednesday, January 4, 2017
The page reads: “It is with a heavy heart and in complete shock that the friends and family of Josh try and process his passing. The Gray family is always the first to intercede and offer support the second someone they love is in need. Well, now it’s our turn.”
“While there is nothing that anyone can say or do to make this hurt any less, we would like to open this account for people to give anything they can so that this family has one less thing to think about during this time.”
The sudden loss of Josh has no doubt greatly affected his family and friends, and it’s all we can do to pray for them at this most difficult of times. If nothing else, let his untimely passing be a reminder to all that life is short and cruelly unpredictable. Live each day as if it might be your last, and always remember to be the goodness you’d like to see in the world. You never know when you might not get another chance.
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