From birth, Josh Krull was diagnosed with a genetic defect located in his heart putting him at risk for cardiac arrest at any given random point of time in his life. Over time This genetic defect turned into dilated cardiomyopathy, an enlarged heart.

On March 10, 2014, Josh was brought to the hospital for having symptoms of the stomach flu, but when he went into the doctor’s room they found Josh’s heart had failed and had fatal heart rhythms. He was placed on the heart transplant list in March of 2015 at status two; which means he would have to wait at least five to seven years for a new heart. After another cardiac arrest in 2016, Josh was moved up on the heart transplant list.

Josh could only get on the list after three days of evaluations in fourteen different departments, each one having to approve that he was ready to handle what was coming. They also wanted to make sure that he had the support of his family and the community because of the lifelong journey that josh was beginning to embark on.

While on the list, the doctors wanted Josh to keep active, but he tired out very quickly. Although keeping active would help his post transplant recovery, he lived with the fear of being shocked if he ever went into cardiac arrest. Josh played CYO softball over the summer but was limited to what positions he could play and had to be extra careful due to the hot weather which made it very difficult on his heart.

After waiting on the low list for a year, and being moved up to the higher end of the list on March 17th, the Krull family finally got a call at 4:30 p.m. on August 9th saying there is a possible donor out there for their son. When Joshua heard the good news he felt every emotion humanly possible. One second he was happy, another second scared, but excited most of the time. He could not wait to be able to do everything that a normal person could do with no limitations. He got the offical surgery on August 10th. He will be officially cleared six months after the surgery after he passes a few tests. Once he is cleared Josh would like to skydive and eventually try out for the basketball team.

Josh would like to send out a personal thanks to everyone that was behind him with care and support on his tough journey including: his parents, family, his friends, the students of North Hills High School, and the faculty and staff of North Hills.