Josh Mogren

CF Speaker, Blogger, Entertainer

Josh Mogren is a 32 year old living with cystic fibrosis. He does his best to have a positive and humorous outlook while dealing with the realities of a very serious illness. Josh has dedicated a majority of his life to helping other families deal with the day-to-day struggles of cystic fibrosis in honor of his sister, Angela, who passed away from cystic fibrosis sixteen years old in 1993.

As an active member of the CF Community, Josh has promoted CF awareness since childhood working with CF non-profits and organizations of all shapes and sizes. He was a keynote speaker at the 2002 Breath of Life Gala for the Minnesota Chapter of Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. He was also part of CFvoice.com’s “Breathe Song Event” with fellow CF warriors Rose Logue and Tess Dunn. The event paid tribute to Matt Scales – a talented 27 year old singer/songwriter with CF who passed away in 2007.

Currently, Josh uses two main outlets to connect with the CF Community:

Welcome to Joshland is his blog where he shares real stories and honest thoughts about his life.

“What you read is what you get in Joshland.  I try to find a healthy mix of optimistic realism which means I tend to be very upfront with a lot of things on my blog.” proclaims Josh. “I’m proud to say that I can be both a serious adult AND a big kid who loves life and isn’t afraid to be silly. The main message I want people take from my blog is to do the best you can with whatever life gives you. Face your challenges with peaceful thoughts and lots of love. That’s all anyone can expect of you and what you owe to yourself.”

W2J on YouTube is where he creates videos to teach people – especially kids – about cystic fibrosis through humor, love, and honesty with a little help from his puppet, Moganko. Josh recalls all too well how hard growing up with CF can be.

“There were very few programs or materials for children with cystic fibrosis when I was young. I started making these videos so I could put a different spin on CF awareness. More silly and less serious. When kids see this adult with CF talking to this bright orange puppet, they instantly connect. Kids laugh at us when we are silly and they get an inspiring message at the end of every episode. If I help one CF child with my videos, that makes me a happy man.”

Josh is looking forward to working with all of the distinguished members of the Blooming Rose Foundation’s professional panel.

www.welcometojoshland.com
www.youtube.com/user/welcometojoshland