Happy Birthday Jordan!

Jordan turned one on December 6 and we were lucky to be able to celebrate the day with all of her grandparents. We had a Texas barbeque lunch supplied by Gram and Gramps...and Jordan had her favorite post-chemotherapy meal, yogurt and puffs. Craig also picked out a fantastic Elmo cake although Jordan seemed more interested in looking at it rather than eating it. I would guess that Jordan's favorite part of the party was the Elmo birthday banner because she pointed to it throughout the celebration.

Despite all the birthday fun, Jordan seemed fussy and lethargic during the day and spiked a temperature in the evening. Since Jordan's counts are so low, any temperature means have to go to the hospital for IV antibiotics. The labs in the hospital revealed that Jordan's ANC (absolute neutrophil count) was 0...meaning that she doesn't even have one neutrophil in her body to fight off any potential infections. I think taking my daughter to the hospital on her birthday was a low point but it was good to see how she perked up after the blood and platelet transfusions...now we just need the neutrophils to come back and the fevers to go away. We will be at the hospital for at least a few days until Jordan's condition improves a bit.

Thank you to everyone for the birthday wishes for Jordan. I also want to the thank the oncology clinic and pediatric floor at Morristown Memorial, especially Dr. Miller, Gina, and Meg. The clinic had a birthday celebration for Jordan on Friday and the hospital had one on Monday. Both celebrations were complete with singing, balloons, presents, and cake. We are very lucky that Jordan is being treated by such kind and thoughtful professionals who I am sure treat Jordan with the same love and care that they would provide to their own children.

We have also received the results of the MIBG scans. These tests are specific for neuroblastoma and show all the places in the body where the cancer is located. In addition to the bones around the eyes (which we already knew were impacted), the MIBG scans showed cancer in her skull and in the bones of her hips and legs. This was disappointing news as it may indicate Jordan may need more intensive radiation therapy than we had previously thought...and the side effects of radiation to the skull and leg bones are very heartbreaking. So for now I am hopeful that the chemotherapy will effectively treat the cancer in her bones and hopefully minimize any radiation she may need in the future.