Within two months, the pain Joshua believed to be growing pains increased, revealing an aggressive form of bone cancer. For the tumor to be removed, Joshua’s leg did, too. Read more to find out how Joshua overcame these obstacles and got back in the game. 

Cracked

In Joshua’s favorite game, Fortnite, the term “cracked” means that a player’s shield is broken. In April 2019, Joshua’s shield was broken when he went to an orthopedist with severe leg pain. What was originally believed to be growing pains turned out to be an aggressive form of bone cancer known as malignant osteosarcoma. 

Devastated and facing 19 rounds of chemotherapy, Joshua and his parents also had to make a very difficult decision. His cancer needed to be removed quickly and completely, but to get all of the cancer, he would lose his right leg. Joshua had always been brave, but he proved to be a true hero as he faced the loss of his leg with optimism. 

Full Send

Just like in Fortnite, Joshua fought his enemy, cancer, at “full send”; he gave it 100% and charged into chemotherapy with determination. His leg was amputated above the knee in July. Joshua was determined to not let this stop him. As soon as he could, he got back to doing the things he loved: playing Fortnite, riding on four-wheelers, and swimming. 

Joshua’s parents proved to be fighters as well, bringing awareness to the need for childhood cancer research and new medications and treatments. They created a Facebook page called “Bomb Away Cancer” to help family and friends follow their journey and to encourage others struggling with similar circumstances. It documents their heroic journey at Full Send.

Victory Royale

Only eight months after first being diagnosed, Joshua rang the bell to celebrate no more chemotherapy. He took his first steps with a prosthetic leg just a few days later and was back in the game! 

Joshua was able to beat the odds, and to celebrate, his parents had a victory-over-cancer party. He was surprised with a Fortnite-themed cake — a Victory Royale. The day would forever mark the perseverance and strength of this brave 9-year-old boy. 

Joshua’s mother, Candice, describes the experience in her own words.

“It was the perfect celebration with family and friends. His baker was magnificent, and the cake was the center of the party. Joshua continues to talk about his cake and how he has triumphed over cancer.”

Help other children find joy as they, too, triumph over cancer. Donate today.

Kimberly decided that she would create her first ever cake for her Godson, designing it around a Lego theme. In cake, she found what she had been looking for: a way to channel her creative side and find an outlet to relieve stress from her day job. Not only was the feeling of being creative and fulfilled rewarding, the expression from her Godson was even better. When he received his cake, he went WILD!

After making her Godson’s cake, she wanted to become a Sugar Angel. She wanted to provide special, tailor-made cakes to the brave kids that face illnesses. She also finds it rewarding to see how appreciative the kids are when they receive their cakes. With this in mind, pulling all-nighters to create the perfect cake makes it all worthwhile.

Kimberly’s latest cake was created for Icing Smiles recipient Gabe. Gabe is a HUGE Fortnite fan. His mom described him as living and breathing the game! Knowing that Gabe was such a huge Fortnite fan gave Kimberly a bit of anxiety. She wanted to make sure that Gabe would love his cake. She also wanted to make sure that he would be able to recognize all components, theme and figures on the cake. In order to make this cake perfect, she did research on the game. She also asked her nephews all about the game. They even showed her how to play!

While playing the game, Kimberly paid special attention to her nephews’ reactions. She noticed that their most positive reaction came from the llama piñata! So Kimberly made sure that the llama piñata was one the aspects of the cake that stood out the most.

Kimberly’s dedication to learning the game of Fortnite in order to produce this amazing cake that made Gabe go wild makes Icing Smiles SO proud to have a Sugar Angel like her!

Please follow Kimberly on Pinterest to see more of her work.

With Smiles + Cake,

Chasity Brown

Icing Smiles Blog Writer

In August of 2018, Israel Graves was diagnosed with Acute Myelogenous Leukemia after a trip to the pediatrician about an odd bruise and instantly his world was turned upside down.

Since his diagnosis, the journey through chemotherapy and hospital visits have been difficult for both Israel and his mother, Cara, as a single parent. But they have both worked hard to bolster his fight and strive through every obstacle.

Israel has not had much to look forward to this past year, and celebrating his birthday was not looking like it would be any different to the year he has had so far. However, turning thirteen is a milestone all on its own– and Israel was more than deserving of a genuine moment of surprise and celebration! So, Israel was given two unexpected but exciting surprises for his birthday, that was sure to make anyone smile.

His first surprise was being able to celebrate his birthday at home rather than having to spend it at the hospital. The second was receiving an incredible birthday cake from one of our marvelous Sugar Angels, Jackie at Edible Art Charlotte. As Cara shared, “Receiving this gift from Icing Smiles and its volunteer bakers was figuratively and literally ‘the icing on the cake!’”. Cara worked secretly, delaying their departure from the hospital so Israel could come home to his incredible birthday cake just at the right moment as a surprise. The cake is decorated in a Fortnite theme, a popular online game, and is the perfect representation of celebrating a moment to the fullest, as players can choose personalized dances for celebrating after winning each battle. So, like the Fortnite characters after winning every battle, Israel got his moment to celebrate. You can hear more about Israel’s journey and support him here.

This post written with love and smiles by Icing Smiles blogger Candyce Palmer.