Even a trivial game like a round of Guitar Hero brings out the fierce competitor in Jordan. She isn’t satisfied until she proves she’s the best. Her seductive personality, which often lapses into soulful discourse on the merits of biscuits and tea, belies a gritty underbelly on her character. Psychologically speaking, she might shiv you to win a challenge. She has a ruthless side that sparks when placed in competition. It is the essence of what propelled her up that rock face in Orlando, the substance of the never-ending war of words with her brother, and the very foundation of her survivorship.

She is draped in purple, preening herself in the company of her Auntie Lisa, who is blow drying her hair. They gossip and sample cosmetics. Jordan angles to the side and tilts her head with a healthy embelishment of feminine sass. She is having the time of her life. Her skin shines. Her cheeks blush. Her eyes charm on cue. This is why she survives. This is the life that is on her side as she kicks cancer’s sorry butt.

Jordan and I decided to participate in Story Corps’ National Day of Listening, which will take place on Friday, November 28th. Though the audio is not the best, you can hear summarys in our latest podcast.

She is intolerant of sniffles. When her nose runs, she is mad with contempt. – Why is my nose always running? – It’s just a cold, Jordan. We all get them. – I don’t understand why my nose gets so cranky. And there you have it: Jordan’s personification of the world. Her runny nose is not a symptom of a seasonal cold, it is an insubordinate appendage caught in an insurrection against her body.

MRI Day We’re relieved. Though the radiologist has not delivered the report yet, Jordan’s oncologist has completed a preliminary review of the scans and reports that she is continuing to make progress. From his read, it appears her condition is stable, which is much better than we feared. Jordan’s persistent headaches, back aches and nausea worried us. We were all expecting that the tumor might have won this battle. But it seems Jordan is still kicking its butt … or at least holding the battle line.