Monday his numbers were back down and his ANC was 250 (anything under 500 is severe risk of infection), but with lots of handwashing and carefully not exposing him to sick people his numbers bumped back up to 750, just in time for the program on Thursday.
Looking back over the last few months, I think of the day Jordon was diagnosed and how cancer was absolutely the last thing, if even, on my mind. When we went to the doctor that day, Jordon was complaining of a scratchy throat and had had a low grade fever of 99.4 for a couple of days. I thought he had strep throat, and in attempt to catch it early and keep our other kids from getting it, I made an appointment for the doctor. When we got to the doctor, she swabbed his throat, and it was negative for strep (of course). She discovered a murmur (which I told her I was not aware he had one) and also told me that she was having trouble hearing the left lung. I though it was possible he had pneumonia. She wanted him to have an x-ray of the lung to see if there was pneumonia. Again cancer was not even a thought in my mind. I mean, how could a healthy looking boy that just played a double header baseball game two nights before have cancer (and a tumor impeding blood flow to his heart and lung and not cause any apparent symptoms)? I think I blogged about all of this before, but what I didn't tell you is that diffuse large b cell lymphoma doubles every 30 hours. When they discovered Jordon's tumor it was the size of 2 baseballs. Looking back, the doctor we saw that day was truly an angel sent from God. Her intuition and reaction to the situation was probably not something every doctor would have done and when I think about what an amazing blessing she was, I tear up. Because if we would have waited even a week, this story could be very different.
Although cancer is a scary word, and to hear your child has it can be overwhelming, the journey that we have been through and the things we have learned, and the relationship we have developed with the Lord, we are beyond words grateful and thankful for. It is amazing how He makes you strong in your weakest moments, how He makes you love when you want to hate, how He comforts you when you want to cry or give up. I pray I always remember to give the Lord all the glory for our many blessings.
We have also also developed life long friendships with people that may not have otherwise crossed our paths. Things like this brings a family closer together, a community closer together, and makes you realize that things that seemed so huge before, really don't matter. I love the poster that tells you of all the things cancer can't take from you. Most importantly it can't take eternal life. So even more so, this journey made us realize that we only need to live for one thing and that is Christ and in everything we must ask ourself if it glorifies the Lord?
We pray for the thousands of children suffering from cancer and other illnesses, and that they will find comfort in the Lord and grow their relationship with Him through troubling times. We ask that you continue to pray for everyones health and Jordon's continued remission. We pray that he will not have any long term effects from the medication. We pray that Jordon will forever remain cancer free. We pray for our continued normal life and that our family will continue to grow in the Lord and as a unit working for the glory of God. We pray for patience, kindness, and positive attitudes. We thank the Lord for our many blessings and Jordon being cancer free.
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