Joseph Lombard aka N2SC4R - viewer discretion is advised

Joseph's love for racing began at an early age.  I remember him making engine sounds very young when he played with his cars.  As a young boy, Joseph collected Hot Wheels cars. But about age 8 he began watching NASCAR and instantly became a Jeff Gordon fan. He then began collecting NASCAR diecasts, and now has hundreds of cars. He began making pit road on the carpet with tape and once he found out the qualifying position of each driver he would then arrange his cars in the correct order. As a driver's position would change during the race so would his lineup.  As Joseph became older he started using a video camera, cotton balls, and the winning car to make burnout videos.  Now, as they say, the rest is history.  His love of NASCAR continues today. 

If Joseph isn't going to a race he loves to race.  Joseph has even been referred to as "The young Jeff Gordon".  What do you think?  One of Joseph's favorite gifts is a piece of the Daytona track from Turn 4.

When Joseph was in second grade he was diagnosed on the autism spectrum. Although high functioning he still had some difficulties in school so he was placed in the Special Education program.  Thanks to a lot of wonderful teachers, the support of his family, and his hard work and dedication, he can do most things any mainstream person can do. As anyone who has ever been a part of a Special Education program knows these students are not invited to most mainstream parties.  In fact, they are pretty much isolated.  For this reason his father and I decided to begin having holiday parties where they invited friends from their classes. This then led to Joseph participating in walks for Autism Speaks and contributing to the community by making Easter Baskets and Christmas stockings for a local hospital.  

Joseph had many health issues but it wasn't until December 2013 when he was taken to the emergency room for emergency surgery that he found out he has Crohn's Disease.  A grapefruit size tumor and one and a half feet of his intestines were taken out.  Since the surgery Joseph has more energy and doesn't live with the pain he once dealt with.  We now Takes Steps for Crohn's and Colitis. He also participates in Walk to End Alzheimers as well since both of his grandmothers unfortunately suffered from Alzheimer's. 

Joseph brings a lot of comic relief to our home.  He never misses a chance to be silly and make someone happy. His grandmother called him "The Pied Piper of the playground" because he would always find someone to play with no matter their age.  Joseph would not be Joseph without his silliness, however most of the time it is at Zachary's expense.