Joshua's wish comes true

Joshua Jean-Louis looks like an average middle school student. He’s athletic, loves basketball and is a devoted Boston Celtics fan who often dreamed about going to famed TD North Garden and meeting his favorite player, Isaiah Thomas.

While meeting Thomas may never happen because the Boston traded Thomas to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Kyrie Irving, he will be going to a Celtics game sometime soon, courtesy of people like Mary O’Rourke, the CEO of Warwick-based Children’s Wishes, five-time world powerlifting champion George Lazzareschi Jr. and his prize student Gina Sabitoni-Arakelian, who prides herself in helping many charitable causes.

Joshua, you see, has one hidden problem, he was born with a congenital heart defect called Hypoplastic Right Heart Syndrome which means the right side of his heart did not form properly and was not able to adequately pump blood to the lungs so he required immediate heart surgery when he was born followed by three more open heart surgeries over the course of two years.

“Joshua requires constant monitoring by his cardiologist,” Lazzereschi explained. “He’s an inspiring young man who bravely faces his medical challenges with the love and support of his family and friends. That’s why I agreed to train him in hopes of him achieve several goals.”

Lazzareschi, who is a Johnston resident and officer in the Providence Fire Department, organized and held “Powerlifting for Joshua” to help make his trip to a Celtics game come true as well as help the Riverside Middle School student achieve his goal of breaking his own record to dead lift 130 pounds.

“He only weighs 132 pounds,” O’Rourke said during the competition at Ocean State Gym, which was won by Sean McElroy of the Men’s Division and Sabitoni-Arakelian of the Women’s Division. “And thanks to George Lazzareschi he broke his personal record.”

Needless to say, everyone inside the Ocean State Gym on Morgan Mill Road in Johnston had tears of joy when Joshua conquered his goal.

“Joshua is over the top and his family was so pleased with what he accomplished,” O’Rourke said. “The tears were flowing everywhere when he broke his own record.”

Moreover, as Sabitoni-Arakelian said, “We raised $1,600 for Joshua so that his wish of going to a Celtics game can be granted. We had 35 lifters come to this event and many of the 250 spectators made a donation, as well. We also sold T-shirts that read Lifting for Joshua.”

So, the weight of helping Joshua Jean-Louis attend a Celtics games has been lifted from Children’s Wishes, thanks to the support and combined efforts of The Doghouse Powerlifting, Elite Powerlifting Federation and two Johnstonians, namely Lazzareschi and Sabitoni-Arakelian and the many folks who helped make Joshua’s dream come true.