Jordan is just like any other 13 year-old boy – he loves music, hanging out with his friends, and playing video games. Last year, he discovered a passion for skateboarding and dedicated most of his free time to learning how to master “Ollies”, “kickflips”, and other types of skateboarding tricks. His ability to ride on his skateboard, however, came to an abrupt halt after a fall at the skate park left him in a great deal of pain. At first, doctors diagnosed him with a sore muscle and prescribed him steroids. Then, after several more weeks of pain, he was given muscle relaxers and anti-inflammatory medication for a back strain. The pain continued to get worse, and he started to walk with a noticeable limp dragging his foot. By this time, the pain was so intense, he couldn’t carry his backpack at school and had to avoid exercises during P.E. class. His pain was unbearable, so I brought him to the emergency room where another doctor pegged him with a displaced disc and told us there was nothing we could really do about it. The following week, Jordan’s symptoms grew worse, and his primary care physician instructed us to go back to the emergency room and request additional tests. Jordan had multiple x-rays taken as well as a CT scan of his bladder – all were normal findings. The doctor knew something was wrong with Jordan; he just didn’t know what. So, he instructed us to return the following day to do an MRI. The MRI revealed that Jordan had a large tumor on his sacrum. When the doctor came back into the room to deliver the news, he had a very serious and nervous look on his face. I knew that it was bad news. It was so unexpected for us all. What we thought was a skateboarding injury turned into something else totally un-related: Cancer.

On March 4, 2015, Jordan was formally diagnosed with Stage 3, Non-Metastatic Ewing’s Sarcoma, the second most common type of bone cancer in children. He has been given an 85% success rate of defeating this disease with chemotherapy. Because of the tumor’s size and its involvement with multiple organ systems, such as his bladder, prostate, gastrointestinal system, bones, and nerves, doctors will attempt to shrink the tumor before operating. Performing surgery now would increase his risk of serious complications.

In order to care for Jordan during chemotherapy, I had to take a leave of absence from my job, which leaves our family with less income each month. His compromised immune system forces him to be homebound; he cannot be exposed to anything or anyone that could give him an infection. This is especially hard on Jordan because he loves school, he loves being around his friends and family, and he loves playing in the school band.

I started this gofundme account with the hopes that Jordan’s story will not only bring awareness to this type of cancer, but will also help our family overcome this obstacle that has become such an emotional, physical, and financial strain. Any help offered is deeply appreciated.