Joshua Farris

[musicfan80]

I'm so happy for Joshua! But I can't beleive he has financial problems.:disapp: $ 4500 is not so much money

For medical expenses in the U.S., certainly not. But in general expenses, yes. $4,300 (depending on where) can be a few months of rent or mortgage payments.

 

[moonvine]

A thought about the cost; it probably is extremely expensive, and they said it wasn’t covered. I’m assuming it’s not FULLY covered, and this is a co-pay.

Unless he requires multiple treatments, and EACH are at that Figure.

Still though, it hurts to hear of this happening to him.

I expect he would require multiple treatments and they are that much or more. My best friend just died of cancer in November and she had Medicare and the copays were huge. She owed MD Anderson $7,462 when she died even though monthly payments were made.

Plus travelling to MD Anderson, paying to stay near MD Anderson (I'm assuming he will need specialists and may not be able to be treated close to home), ubers to and from MD Anderson...all that cost more thousands. Maybe 20k for 6 months.

 

[td84fan]

Wait, this is...figure skating???

Granted, I don't (really) watch men's but omg, that is horrible and shocking. It's just not really a sport you'd normally associate with permanent brain damage like football or fighting. Those quads man...now I really hope the ladies don't go all quad-crazy in the near future. I'm not familiar with this athlete in particular, but I am sorry that he is going through this. So, he's a figure skater on the official US Team? Was he training for the Olympics in one of their facilities? I wonder if the federation could give him some support in that case.

He's not on the team anymore. He's been injured for a while now, planned to come back this past fall and found out he had additional injuries while compensating for undiagnosed injuries. He was a very gifted and talented skater - athletic and artistic. He had tremendous promise. With his newly diagnosed injuries it is very unlikely he will be back to figure skating, but hopefully he will be able to get the treatment he needs to correct what can be corrected from his injuries. Multiple concussions, brain and eye damage, and a herniation of a very important cervical disc really preclude all the movement that skating requires. I'd just like to know that he is getting better from this.

He has literally been through hell since the summer of 2015 and I sincerely hope that he can again obtain a semblance of a normal life away from the ice skating spotlight. Maybe he can eventually choreograph, but honestly, I'd prefer he stay off the ice period. He has suffered too much to continue on skates or on the ice in general. He is very much in my thoughts this Olympic season that I had so hoped he would lead our men's team. Most importantly, he's a beautiful human being that I hope for only the best for.

(Why do some of the posts here appear so long and narrow?)

 

[NanaPat]

(Why do some of the posts here appear so long and narrow?)

The first and last post on each page are "half-width" with an ad on the right-hand half of the page beside the post. Sometimes the post is long (and the ad isn't, usually) or the ad is not there, so you see a lot of blank space on the right.

 

[Tavi...]

Josh was just interviewed by a local Colorado Springs news station.

http://www.krdo.com/news/local-figure-skater-brings-awareness-to-traumatic-brain-injury/683743822

 

[musicfan80]

Thanks for sharing. Great to hear from Josh even though his experience has been so difficult. I hope that he continues to recover. He looks overall well - I wonder if he's had other treatments that were covered by health insurance.

I apologize if this seems shallow, but I do like the facial hair. It's much better than the stubble that he has had. :yes:

 

[Alchamei]

Why was his therad about the funding moved to his fan thread? That was nothing just to be purely for his fans! This is very important to the sport as a whole and more people could see it and donate to him!

 

[td84fan]

Thanks for sharing. Great to hear from Josh even though his experience has been so difficult. I hope that he continues to recover. He looks overall well - I wonder if he's had other treatments that were covered by health insurance.

I apologize if this seems shallow, but I do like the facial hair. It's much better than the stubble that he has had. :yes:

Thank you for mentioning that there was video on this page! I have my browser set to prompt me if there is video content and I clearly wasn't prompted or I would have watched it when it was first posted.

I honestly can't figure why his insurance wouldn't cover these treatments when his quality of life would be so poor without them. Perhaps, as others suggested, he exceeded a coverage limit already. I believe overall lifetime limits on coverage are still outlawed by the ACA, I'm not sure that also applies to individual therapies. This just seems so ridiculous that the treatment would not be covered.

 

[musicfan80]

Thank you for mentioning that there was video on this page! I have my browser set to prompt me if there is video content and I clearly wasn't prompted or I would have watched it when it was first posted.

I honestly can't figure why his insurance wouldn't cover these treatments when his quality of life would be so poor without them. Perhaps, as others suggested, he exceeded a coverage limit already. I believe overall lifetime limits on coverage are still outlawed by the ACA, I'm not sure that also applies to individual therapies. This just seems so ridiculous that the treatment would not be covered.

I don’t know why, either - unless for some reason the insurance company still considers this treatment to be “experimental” - especially if it’s a new type of treatment/procedure. I’ve heard of insurance companies that were wonky about what therapies or surgeries they will pay for.

 

[musicfan80]

YAY! They are now above $12,400!

 

[musicfan80]

Now above $13,000! :yay: I hope they have been able to schedule the therapy now that they have more than enough money.

 

[ice coverage]

No, I do not have an update re Josh .

Just wanted to mention a couple of things re 2017 Skate It Forward.

A new montage of group photos from last year's show was posted on Facebook today:

https://www.facebook.com/SkateItForward/videos/vb.1726536770924445/2046241162287336/?type=3&theater (Mar 5)

Don't think I had ever seen the goofy one with Josh in a multicolored boa .​

And a thank you-message re the 2017 show is on a page dated Jan 31 on SIF's own site.

https://skateitforward.co/2018/01/31/thank-you/

At the bottom of the page is a link to Google Drive, which seems to include jpeg files of Josh from 2017.
But I am not able to open the files, so I don't know whether the photos of Josh are "never-before-seen" or whether we did see them last year.​

Not really on topic, but the Feb issue of Skating magazine had a "Where Are They Now?" profile of Damon Allen (with a very brief mention of Josh):

http://content.digitalpub.blue-soho....SKATING/html/index.html?page=9&origin=reader (pp. 8-9 of the magazine)​

 

[karne]

omg ice coverage, my heart nearly jumped out of my chest! :no:

I love the photos, they're so great!

I hope he is doing well and he is happy. That's all I want now. Please be happy, Josh.

 

[musicfan80]

I will admit that I was surprised & concerned that that there wasn’t any mentions anywhere of Josh watching/cheering during the Olympics - not even with Joe Johnson (aren’t they bros?). Maybe the therapy has started and he has to travel out of the area or rest a lot during it.

 

[ice coverage]

... I hope he is doing well and he is happy. That's all I want now. Please be happy, Josh.

Attention, pls ... not a drill, not a drill :hap85::

Instagram story of @madisonlfox has a couple of seconds of happy video of Josh .

He is moving on ice ... stroking around in no rush.

He is seen at first from behind.
A friendly voice calls out his name, and he turns around to face the camera. He gives a big smile and waves :luv17:.
As handsome as ever. (Wearing his eyeglasses.)

At World Arena Ice Hall (if I am not mistaken).

[Just a wild guess, but I get the vague sense that maybe(???) he is giving a lesson to the person at his right???]​

 

[musicfan80]

YAY! Happy (it seems!) Josh!

I think that is definitely at World Arena - The background looks the same.

So, I'm hoping it means he is doing better - I wasn't sure what "not working more than 2 hours a day" was really limiting to him. I was thinking it still couldn't be anything too strenuous - which could mean what coaching would entail.

My apologies for the completely shallow point - He looks like he's still in shape and I really like the glasses and facial hair. If, by some small chance, he recovers enough to be in a show someday - I wouldn't want the look to go away.

 

[karne]

Attention, pls ... not a drill, not a drill :hap85::

Instagram story of @madisonlfox has a couple of seconds of happy video of Josh .

He is moving on ice ... stroking around in no rush.

He is seen at first from behind.
A friendly voice calls out his name, and he turns around to face the camera. He gives a big smile and waves .
As handsome as ever. (Wearing his eyeglasses.)

At World Arena Ice Hall (if I am not mistaken).

[Just a wild guess, but I get the vague sense that maybe(???) he is giving a lesson to the person at his right???]​

The big smile! The casual skating! I'm not crying! The ninjas are cutting onions!

YAY! Happy (it seems!) Josh!

I think that is definitely at World Arena - The background looks the same.

That is definitely the World Arena. It's the NHL rink rather than the Olympic rink, I think. Not the one with all the banners.

My apologies for the completely shallow point - He looks like he's still in shape and I really like the glasses and facial hair. If, by some small chance, he recovers enough to be in a show someday - I wouldn't want the look to go away.

:yes: :yes:

 

[musicfan80]

JOSHUA-RELATED SOCIAL MEDIA ALERT!

Joe Johnson (joejohnsonice) has an Instagram story where he is in a show in Milwaukee, WI and has borrowed and is wearing Josh's Schindler's List costume.

I agree with Joe - I am also surprised that the costume fit that well - isn't one of Manta/Johnson jokes that Joe considerably short compared to most male ice dancers? Also, I think Joe is more bigger built than Josh. Anyway, it is kinda cute to watch.

 

[karne]

Joe looks good in it. :yes:

When I saw Josh tagged in it I was practically glued to the screen hoping that Joe was about to swivel away to show us Josh...but what we got was pretty good too.

 

[shirleyc89]

Josh is working on Vincent Zhou's exhibition program!!

https://www.instagram.com/p/BhMgi8MFIlW/?hl=en&taken-by=govincentzhou