TONTITOWN, ARKANSAS: A throwback clip from a 2015 episode of ‘19 Kids and Counting’ showed Josie Duggar, then aged five, suffering a seizure in front of her sobbing sister Jana Duggar. In the clip, a panicked Jana, 33, was seen holding Josie over the kitchen sink before producers of the show rushed inside the Duggar family's Arkansas home to help the child. Jana was then seen sobbing after she is told to put her “ear to her neck” to listen to Josie's breathing.
Shortly after, paramedics could be seen arriving at the scene and carrying Josie outside to an ambulance. One EMT could also be heard announcing, “She's apparently breathing” and “She's come back around.” Jana and Josie’s parents, Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar, were reportedly out of town during the medical emergency, as per The US Sun. Josie's older brother, James, first noticed that his little sister became “unresponsive” and started “jerking” while playing around the house. He soon understood the signs of a seizure and ran to seek help. After being released from the hospital, Josie later returned home in good health.
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Who is Josie Duggar and where is she now?
Josie Duggar, now 13, is the youngest child of Jim Bob and Michelle’s total of 19 children. Born in 2009, Josie was reportedly a premature child and suffered a string of health issues since her birth. She was recently seen posing for a series of photos for a reunion between the Duggar siblings and their mom Michelle.
In one of the photos, the Duggar daughters, including Jana, Jill, Jessa, Jinger, Joy, Johannah, Jennifer, Jordyn, and Josie, were seen standing together in a row and smiling while posing for the camera. Jinger, who currently lives in Los Angeles, shared some photos from the reunion with a caption that read, “We had the best time in Arkansas visiting my family. Girl time with all of my sisters and sweet mama, meeting some new nieces and nephews, eating lots of good food, and many late night conversations.”
Fans were quick to notice that Josie looked much smaller compared to her sisters while standing next to them in order of their age. One Reddit user pointed out, “Crazy how much shorter Josie is in comparison to Jordyn (they're less than a year apart),” while one replied, “Possibly because she was a preemie?” One fan claimed, “I think she probably has a plethora of health issues that have never been addressed”. Another added, “Yeah I mean after hearing Michelle talk so casually about her ‘little glitches’ or whatever she called them, yeah. I wouldn't be surprised if Josie wasn't as healthy as they all claim.”
However, other users said that the teen is yet to hit a growth spurt. “Josie could possibly catch up later in her teens since there isn’t that much difference for preemie babies... preemies compared to babies born on time are shorter by millimeters on average,” one wrote. “Siblings come in all different sizes and shapes. They grow at different rates, and have different sizes as adults,” another commented.
A look into Josie Duggar’s health issues
Josie was reportedly born only 25 weeks into her mother’s pregnancy, nearly three and a half months premature. Michelle suffered from preeclampsia, high blood pressure during pregnancy, and had to undergo an emergency C-section to save both Josie’s as well as her own life. Josie was reportedly born a “micro-preemie,” which made her susceptible to long-term health issues like cerebral palsy, blindness, and deafness, The US Sun reported.
In the wake of Josie’s seizure episode, Michelle explained that the former often experienced seizures. “One of the little glitches for Josie is that if she runs a fever, she does have a tendency to have febrile seizures,” the TLC alum said at the time. Earlier this year, fans were left worried about Josie’s health again after she was seen wearing a harness around her neck and shoulders during a family meal.
The device seemingly appeared to be a figure-8 brace, designed to help treat clavicle fractures, broken collarbones and dislocated clavicles. “One of my students wore something like that when he broke his collarbone. I hope that's not the case,” one Reddit user wrote. “Could be a flexible back brace to help with borderline/mild scoliosis,” another said. “Re: What Josie is wearing - It looks like one of those things to help straighten your posture,” a third commented. Another said, “I'm just glad they are actually getting her the help she need.”
‘Praying for you’
Some fans also took to Facebook to react to the throwback seizure video. “Prayers for Josie,” one wrote. “BEAUTIFUL LITTLE GIRL, PRAYING FOR YOU,” another added. “She’s fine,” one assured. “Bless her heart. Josie am praying for you,” a fourth commented.
One claimed, “This was from the show, it's a shame these people exploited their kids and medical issues for attention views likes and money” before adding, “She's fine, if you read the article you would know it was from when the show was on.”
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