Four weeks ago I wrote one of the hardest columns I’ve ever felt
compelled to pen. It was about our friend and colleague Josh
Staloch, an integral member of our South Valley Newspaper family
who had been in a horrific motorcycle crash and had been
hospitalized with severe life-threatening injuries.
Four weeks ago I wrote one of the hardest columns I’ve ever felt compelled to pen. It was about our friend and colleague Josh Staloch, an integral member of our South Valley Newspaper family who had been in a horrific motorcycle crash and had been hospitalized with severe life-threatening injuries.
Today I can’t tell you how thrilled I am to be writing a column that defines the very essence of the strength and determination that comes from within the human spirit.
Two days ago, exactly five weeks to the day after the accident, Josh was released from the hospital and although he has a long road of physical therapy still ahead, his return to health is something that all who know him are celebrating.
And for all of you ‘Baler fans here’s an added incentive for winning Saturday’s CCS Championship game. Your No. 1 supporter and fan will be there at the game.
That’s right, Josh may be in a wheelchair instead of his normal spot roaming the sidelines with pen and pad in hand, but nothing’s keeping him from this one.
“I’ll be there in a wheelchair but I’m coming. There’s no way I’m missing this one,” Staloch exclaimed. “I’m looking forward to seeing them beat Oak Grove. We almost got them last year. This year it’s ours for the taking.”
When asked about his hospital stay and the last five weeks Josh admitted that he has no memory of anything from before last Tuesday.
“I know one thing, I want to thank the Cal Star people. If it wasn’t for them there’s no way I’d be here right now. Those guys are amazing and I owe them my life,” Staloch admitted with heartfelt sincerity.
Josh still has his sense of humor as is evidenced by the fact that he said he missed his motorcycle but was probably better off without it. We’ll agree with you on that one, my friend.
But then while we were in the midst of laughing about that, Josh, wheeling himself through his parents home came upon his motorcycle helmet.
“Oh my God,” he exclaimed. “You should see this thing. It’s disgusting. It’s scary. It’s absolutely disgusting.”
And just like that the moment for both of us became powerfully sober.
The reality of how fragile life is and how quickly it can be lost hit both of us like a ton of bricks. It makes you put everything in perspective really quick. We’re only here on this earth for a relatively short stretch of life. And time and unforeseen occurrence can make that life span even shorter.
Are we doing everything we want with our lives? Do those that are our real friends and family know how much they mean to us? If our last day were tomorrow can we honestly say that we’ve lived the kind of life that we would be proud of?
We all have the chance to make a difference, the question is will we?
Josh, for one, has wasted no time taking advantage of what he calls his “wake up call.”
“I quit smoking,” Josh bragged.
But all in all there was one clear message that permeated throughout our conversation and I would be remiss if I neglected to extend to you, the public, his friends and fans, how much you’ve made a difference.
“I really want to thank everybody for their cards and the outpouring of emotional support. Depression was really starting to set in. I’m not a patient person at all and I was getting a bit stir crazy,” Josh admitted. “I was dangerously close to losing it but all of your support has kept me on an even keel. I felt like life was passing me by in there and if it wasn’t for all of your support I don’t know how I would have gotten through it.”
Five weeks ago we all took a symbolic knee when we heard the news that one of our own went down. Now, we can all celebrate a miraculous recovery, a true testament to the strength of the human spirit and a community and their sports editor that have all proved there’s nothing better in this world than true friends.
An old proverb written by King Solomon nearly 3,500 years ago sums it up best. “A true companion is loving all the time and is a brother that is born for when there is distress.” (Proverbs 17:17).
The best icing on the cake in Josh’s road to recovery would be a 2005 CCS Championship trophy sitting in the case at San Benito High School.
Go ‘Balers! Win this one for yourselves and for Josh. You both deserve it.
John Coscia is the South Valley Newspapers Sports Editor and can be reached at 408-842-9858 or at [email protected]
