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Eagle Scout Dedicates Accomplishment to Mom's Cancer fight

A Boy Scout from Coppell dedicated a lifetime achievement to bring comfort to people fighting cancer. It’s a project inspired by his mother and fueled by a competition with his father.

“This is basically where I spend most of my life at home,” said Joshua Moikeha, laying on the floor playing on his computer.

Like many 14 year olds, “I’m showing him Minecraft,” Joshua is a huge fan of video games.

“Making video games, playing video games, talking with friends about video games,” Joshua said.

For him, being inside a virtual reality can be way more comfortable than the real world.

“I have Asperger’s and I find some somethings a little bit difficult for me,” said Joshua.

According to the website Autism Speaks, Asperger syndrome is considered to be on the “high functioning” end of the Autism spectrum. Affected children and adults have difficulty with social interactions and exhibit a restricted range of interests and/or repetitive behaviors.

Joshua's parents said socializing is one of those things. So his dad: a doctor, military man, and long-time scout, motivated him with Boy Scout merit badges. “He had 73, I currently have 54, so I mean— I’m gonna blow him out of the water pretty soon,” Joshua said with a smile.

This competition let Joshua force himself to get outdoors and face new challenges, including carrying a 60 pound pack on a week-long hiking trip. The side effect: new muscles, “look at this, look at this!” Joshua says while laughing and pointing at his bicep.

But individual merit badges pale in comparison to his year-long project that earned him scouting’s highest honor: becoming an Eagle Scout.

“Yes!” Joshua says while throwing his hands up in victory.

He received countless letters of “congratulations” including from a U.S. president, and more importantly to him, “Nintendo, this is his prize letter,” his mother, Windy Moikeha, said while showing us an album filled with letters of recognition.

The focus of his Eagle Scout project was his mother, Windy, and her courageous fight with cancer.

“[I] had a mammogram and they said everything was fine come back in six months, and five months later I actually felt the first lump," said Windy.

Windy was diagnosed with Breast Cancer when Joshua was just 8 years old.

“As much as I was positive and really felt like I was gonna beat it— there was that fear in the back of my head that what if I don’t? Ya know what is my boy gonna do without me?” Windy said.

After a mastectomy, chemo and radiation— today, she’s healthy.

“Alright, so here’s the chemo care kit,” Windy said while pointing to a box covered with pink tissue paper. Her experience during treatment inspired Joshua’s Eagle Scout project.

They made and collected items that could help bring comfort to other people fighting cancer.  Home-made socks, puzzle books and tissue packets are some of the dozen items in each care package.

They delivered 200 care packages to cancer patients.

“It felt good because I . . . because I knew that I was actually doing something to help other people,” Joshua said.

His thoughtful generosity was reciprocated with thank-you notes from patients, including one that stated “when I read your note and scripture, I had tears in my eyes.”

And for Joshua’s mother, seeing her son go beyond his comfort zone to help others who are struggling, “to know that he’s touching people, and knowing where their mind is at you know at the moment they received his gift is pretty special.”

A lifetime achievement reached at just 14, thanks to the support of his parents and countless hours of scouting. Otherwise he’d be: “he would probably be playing video games all the time, Joshua’s mom said with laughter, “nothing else.”

Joshua quickly agreed, “True, true, very true.”

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