Josh's Bio

The most import thing to know about Josh is that he is a man of God. However that wasn't alway the case. Josh grew up in a split family, with his parents being divorced for as long as he can remember. He spent most of the time living with his mother, brother, and grandparents in Troy. During the summer and holidays he would go to Mesick to be with his father.

 

 

 

At a young age Josh's family was struck with tragedy. There were several deaths in the family, including a younger brother that was born with Tay-Sachs. Yet through this pain his family was still able to teach him the value of a hard days work, and core principles of patriotism, relentlessness, and honesty.  However, oftentimes Josh was a rebellious and misguided child.

 

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That rebellion led Josh to make a bad bet at a young age. That bet was that athletics were more important than academics. Like most people, the bet didn't pay off. However Josh did have a backup plan, to follow in the footsteps of the two men in his family who were role models to him during his childhood. His great grandfather and grandfather both served in the US Army, serving in World War II and Korea respectively. These were the best examples of good men Josh had growing up, so at 17 Josh signed his name on the dotted line and enlisted as an infantryman.

 

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A week after Josh turned 18 he shipped off to basic training in Georgia. After completing basic training Josh was stationed in Louisiana. From there he deployed with the 4th Brigade of the 10th Mountain division to Afghanistan in October 2010. Come August 2011 Josh's life would change forever. While out on patrol Josh's platoon was ambushed and he was shot below his body armor in the back, with an exit wound in his stomach. By the time he woke up from the surgeries, blood transfusions, resuscitations, and medically induced coma Josh was left with a new constant, pain.

 

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The complications from the gunshot wound were compounded by a problem that wasn't caught until it was too late. The tube between Josh's kidney and bladder had been destroyed by the bullet, however this wasn't discovered until after his midline had closed. So he had to wait until it completely healed before they could do anything to fix it. This meant months of having multiple surgeries to have tubes going into his kidney and abdomen replaced as Josh battled multiple infections that left him hospitalized. However this didn't capture everything. During the auto-kidney transplant (where a doctor took his left kidney out and re-inserted it on the right side) the doctor discovered a pocket of urine that had pooled next to his spine. This was the worst case scenario because the acidity of the urine combined with the prolonged exposure has led to Josh dealing with severe nerve damage, and multiple neurological disorders. It got so bad there have been several points since then where Josh was told he would never walk again, and the best that could be done would be to mitigate pain.

 

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After reaching this deep abyss Josh was lost in darkness. However in that darkness he was able to find someone who made him believe that he had more to offer the world. A year to the day after his injury Josh defeated expectations when he walked down to marry that woman, Brandy. Their marriage has proven to be a turning point in Josh's life. Today they have been together for 11 years, and they have loved and supported each other through all of life's challenges. They reside in Roscommon with their beautiful baby girl and three dogs and one cat.

 

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Josh retired from the military in 2013 and moved back to Michigan. After working to get his VA benefits squared away, Josh returned to get an education. During this time life was often difficult for Josh and Brandy. Money was tight as Josh was taking a lot of credits in college, and his health was very up and down. In this difficult time Josh and Brandy would receive a blessing that would change their life forever. A charity for disabled veterans, Operation Heal our Patriots, gave them the opportunity to be included in a marriage retreat in Alaska. During the retreat Josh was able to come to terms with some of the demons that had been haunting him since Afghanistan, and together Josh and Brandy truly accepted Jesus into their lives. This was a true paradigm shift for the Saul's.

 

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By 2018 Josh graduated with a 3.79 GPA with his Bachelor's degree in accounting from Ferris State University. After graduation Josh wanted to make a difference in the healthcare industry that had been so pivotal in his life, so he applied and was hired to work at Munson Healthcare. In the five years since he has earned his CPA license, and has grown into a leader in the department.

 

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Today Josh seeks to go back to his roots of fighting for the principals of American values. He believes we have lost our way as a country.  But, our country is not lost. It is up to all of us to make the sacrifices and do the hard work to save the greatest experiment in self governance in world history.  Together we can achieve a victory and Restore Our Rights!