By Andy Furman
NKyTribune reporter
Margaret Wise Brown – move over – you have competition. His name – Josh Kollmann.
Brown studied childhood development and believed that children preferred stories about everyday topics rather than fantasies. That formed the foundation for her familiar, Goodnight Moon. In 1945 the idea for Goodnight Moon appeared to Margaret Wise Brown in a dream.
Josh Kollmann’s story is honest-to-goodness-true. And, he has a book to prove it – “When Meeting a Miracle.”
An author? Josh Kollmann?
“I spent a lot of time working or playing sports,” he told the Northern Kentucky Tribune, “And not a ton of time with books.” Maybe it was God’s will that his story be told.
“We moved to Northern Kentucky when I was six. I went to Goodridge Elementary and then Conner Middle School,” he said, “For about three hours.
“I was suspended for fighting, and my mom moved to the Dixie Heights school district.”
Kollmann channeled his aggression into wrestling and football. “I ended my football career my senior year with looks from some D 3 schools in the area,” he said, “But it did not sound appealing to pay to go to school and play football on top of it.”
So, he went into – gulp – the ministry of all places.
“I gave about three years to my local church and interned at Seven Hills in Florence, after high school,” he said.
He was 18 when he met Audrey Kay Roth — now Kollmann – his future wife. “I was about three months out of high school. I still remember the first time I saw her. And believe it or not – she asked me out.”
The couple married in 2018 – February 16th to be exact. “It was a month after I turned 21. I had no job, no money, and I told her, ‘I will be someone someday, but for now you will just have to trust me.’”
She did – and along came daughter Fallon, about three years to the day.
“When we went to our 20-week anatomy scan, we discovered Fallon had Campomelic Dysplasia, which is a rare form of Dwarfism that impacts around one of 200,000 kids born each year,” he said.
And, of the ones that are diagnosed – only one to five percent of those babies makes it past the first few months. “We were given a death sentence for our child,” he remembered.
What did he do? A week after the news, he said he sat on a couch on their porch and drank – all day and all night. “I still remember to this day how my heart was ripped out, and all I could feel was a ringing in my ear.”
After a week, he turned back to his faith and said, “OK, God, let’s do this.” He and Audrey started praying over Fallon day and night. Friends and family included – and their church family.
“We were told many times to abort, to terminate, and for me and Audrey that was not an option. If Fallon was going to fight, dang it, so were we,” he said.
They almost lost her that first year. Multiple code events. CPR, lost heartbeat. “As a father and husband, I had to watch the two women I love the most, and the ones I am supposed to protect go through pain nobody else understands and not be able to do a darn thing about it,” he said.
So, Josh went to work – and went to the hospital – daily after work. That was it.
“Being in the NICU with your child is like getting shot in the stomach, and everyday someone sticks their finger on some lemon juice and salt and just puts that finger in that wound,” he said.
The wound never has time to heal.
“I decided to do something about healing this wound,” he said. “I decided to write a book. It is a love letter to my daughter. It is written with every parent raising a child with a disability. It is written for every parent out there that has buried a child. It is for every parent, and every child. I truly believe life is a miracle.”
Kollmann says his message in the book is – all children are miracles. “We as parents must see children in this light, and fight for our children, pray over our children, and lead them in the way they should go. I want every single parent on this planet to feel joy when they look at their child, disability or not. And I want every child to know how special they are, and there is a creator in heaven that made them unique, and for a purpose.”
Through all this — and Fallon is surviving — Kollmann says his brother – Jacob – was the backbone.
“He is the location Pastor at 7 Hills Church in Highland Heights. Along with Pastors Marcus, and Sara Mecum, and the entire staff – they held our hands during the entire process. They loved on us, they prayed over us and Fallon, daily; and would check and call on us regularly.”
Josh Kollmann has already sold around 700 copies of his book.
“I’d love to write another one. I’m working behind the scenes to make that a reality,” he says.
Maybe he’ll co-author it with Fallon. And have it on the bookshelf right next to Goodnight Moon.