Joseph Huggins
(1981 - 2009)

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General Details

Name:	Joseph Huggins
Nick Name:	Blooper
Gender:	Male
Age:	27 years old
Lived:	Tuesday, 7 April 1981 - Saturday, 28 March 2009

My Story

Hello to all. My name is Joseph "Blooper" Huggins. I was born April 07, 1981 to my parents Joseph & Vickie Huggins. I had 2 sisters, Jody & Dana, & 1 brother, Daniel. I had 2 great nephews, Brent & Ian. And two great Brother in Laws-Larry & Bob.I also had a best friend named Josh. He was always there for me through it all. Thanks! I enjoyed hanging out with my very loving family & friends. I loved to play my guitar, hoping one day to play with maybe Metallica? I started getting sick the summer of 2007. It started with flu symptoms. Was in & out of hospitals, nothing. I finally went to the hospital again in March of 2008. Was in there for 3 weeks, feeling like a guinea pig the whole time. Finally got the answer: Aplastic Anemia. What??? How could this be??Aplastic anemia is a condition where bone marrow does not produce sufficient new cells to replenish blood cells.^[1] The condition, per its name, involves both aplasia and anemia. Typically, anemia refers to low red blood cell counts, but aplastic anemia patients have lower counts of all three blood cell types: red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets, termed pancytopenia. Several months went by, doing transfusions, blood work, 20+ medications daily. Nothing was working. Little did I know that I had already had this for years before showing symptoms. I finally found out that I had to have a Bone Marrow Transplant. My two sisters both were tested. Dana was a perfect match. But this was December of 2008. Too late. Doctors never got anything scheduled, said it was to late. I wanted to give up then. I was in serious pain, no help for the pain ever came. I slowly started getting weaker & weaker. January of 2009 was the worst for me. I started to go blind. How? I could no longer drive, feed myself. I was restricted already on what I could do because of the disease. But going blind? I started becoming sicker. Doctors said 1 more chemotherapy treatment. I was already receiving rabbit & horse blood. They were keeping me alive, but not by much. The iron was already a toxic level because of the transfusions. They basically had no hope for me. I started getting severe headaches, nose bleeds. I was in & out of hospitals. On March 25, 2009 I was admitted to the hospital because of the headaches & nosebleeds & flu like symptoms-which is serious when you have no immune system to fight anything off. My family was told they found a tumor on my brain. My family never mentioned this to me. I was fading in & out. Just thought I was tired. My family later found out that my body was attacked by Zygomycosis. A flesh eating bacteria. I died 18 hours after being admitted. The rare fungi, bacterial & viral things that attacked my body, would not grow outside my body. I died with things that were so deep and hidden in tissues. I was only 27. A very rare case (1 in a million) my life ended up being. My family will never know how I got this disease as it is 80% environmental (toxins in air, your grass, water, food you eat.) etc. I left this earth @12:03 am on March 28, 2009 brain dead. Surrounded by 36 people in the ICU. My fears of dying alone didn't happen. I will miss my family & friends! I fought until the end.

Our thoughts are ever with you
Though you have passed away.
And those who loved you dearly
Are thinking of you today.

Latest Tributes

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From: tweetybe27

I love you Brother!!!!

From: tweetybe27

I love you Brother!!!!

From: tweetybe27
Song Name: For Whom the Bell...
Artist: Metallica

This was my brother's favorite song. We played this at his services.

Biography

Fathers Name:	Joseph Huggins
Mothers Name:	Vickie Huggins
Children's Names:	Rylie Fonzy
Siblings Names:	Dana Wilhelm, Jody Winterrowd, Daniel Singer
Country of Birth:	USA
Country of Residence:	USA
City of Residence:	Washington, Pa
Occupation:	Self-Employment
Marital Status:	Single

Interests

Favourite Music Genre:	Heavy Metal
Favourite Artist:	Metallica
Other Interests:
Loved to go fishing

Passing

Place of Passing:	UPMC Presbyterian of Pittsburgh, Pa
Date of Passing:	28 March 2009
Cause of Passing:	Cerebral Herniation and Edema, central nervous system infection
Type of Funeral:	Cremation
Funeral Director:	Lee & Martin Funeral Home
Funeral Date:	1 April 2009