Joshua Epperson has been on stage with The Singing Echoes for 26 years and in that time could count on his hand how many times he couldn’t leave out with the group until September 2014.While on tour in Pennsylvania Josh became sick with an infection and made it home to get no answers from the doctors as to what led to this infection.He was told “I guess your unlucky.” After two weeks Josh was ready to get to go back on the road when recording in the studio ,he felt a pain start in his body.Over the next couple of hours, he had to be taken to the hospital to find out he had a hernia that never surfaced but ruptured.In 2013 Josh and his wife Brooke lost their second child in a miscarriage.God smiled down upon them and on October 28,2014,they welcomed a healthy girl they named Beckett Grace.
The Sunday after she was born Josh was holding her in the recliner when his Mom and Dad come in wanting to see her.As Josh leaned forward in the chair to give his Mom Beckett, something popped and his pain was so great, his Dad couldn’t get Josh up and they had to call an ambulance to go to the ER.The nerves and muscle attached to his mesh and the nerves tore which ended Josh going on the road for the rest of 2014.After Josh and his wife being off work for close to three months,medical bills were piling up and they decided to cut down things such as getting cheaper car payments by trading in their cars.Josh even sold several guitars to keep bills current and was able to take care of his wife’s medical bills for the baby being born.Things were getting better when Josh had to be taken to the ER in April with a kidney stone and missed two weeks from the group. Unfortunately, Josh’s “Out of Pocket” on his insurance started over.In May the group was singing in Alabama when Josh again became sick and was taken to the ER in Enterprise with another kidney stone.
Since May, Josh has passed 11 kidney stones,and one of those attacked him on stage in West Virginia where he couldn’t finish that night .The first of July,he had surgery to remove one that was stuck and now August 17, he will have another surgery to bust the rest of them.Josh has stayed faithful through the years and has even turned down country acts to stay in Gospel music.Friends have given and have called and paid several of his medical bills and have brought 11,000 dollars down to 5,000 dollars.One of Josh’s friends started a Go Fund Me page to help finish off the bills where friends can go support Josh and his family.http://www.gofundme.
