A little more than 24 hours from now, we will herd the family and the dog onto a plane for a long overdue vacation. We’re headed to Portland, Oregon to spend the Thanksgiving holiday with our extended family. Jordan is very excited. It has not been an easy couple of weeks. After Jordan’s last dose of Cytoxan, her counts dropped dangerously low. Fortunately, she seems to have resilience at the cellular level.

Midway through the day, Jordan called me from Children’s Hospital, where she was having her weekly blood work. – Dad, I got two shots and I didn’t cry! – Two, shots! Why did you get two shots? – Oh, I had to get a flu shot and a shot to help my body make more white blood cells. There wasn’t the slightest bit of concern in her voice, only pride at her accomplishment.

Something wasn’t right. We thought it was because we were hungry. It was past noon and most of the house hadn’t eaten a thing. We’d reached that moment in time where it was too late to have patience and fix something. We wanted food now. Jeanette kept asking me what we should eat. I deflected and asked what she had in mind. She was coy. – I want something hearty.

Jordan recommenced chemotherapy yesterday. We’re scheduled for two more rounds of Cytoxan, then another scan near the holidays to see if we’re making progress. Jordan handled the dose yesterday like a pro. After seven years, I still found myself swept away by little moments with big impact. Yesterday, before they disconnected Jordan from all the tubes, she said, “I think I might have a headache tomorrow, Mom. Maybe I can’t go to school.

Jordan has been selected as a Childhood Cancer Heroby Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation. She is very excited. If you do not know about the great work the foundation does all year long, please take a moment to visit their websiteand read about their programs.