I am very superstitious. Truth. I cross my fingers, knock on wood and stay quiet in winning streaks. When I’m writing a new piece of fiction, I never discuss it with anyone for fear that the idea will be jinxed. So forgive me for prefacing this journal entry with a disclaimer: it is still early and our family is learning to take one day at a time. That said, Jordan is showing signs of improvement.

Cancer. Finally, they said it. Strangely, it was a relief. There were no more ambiguous references. No pregnant pauses. Just the word. Cancer. We expected to hear the word, though it never before entered conversations with the physicians. Today the word became part of the dialogue. Our daughter has cancer. Technically, she is diagnosed with low grade glioma in the form of leptomeningeal astrocytoma.Her prognosis is good. Dr. Finlay likened her condition to a chronic illness, abstractly analogous to asthma.

She’s had a very good morning. She slept well. She woke up smiling. She had no trouble standing on her own. She asked to go play. She ate a full breakfast and asked me to bring her tea this afternoon. We laughed as we pinched mommy and we joked about how clumsy I am. The neurosurgeons paid a visit early in the morning, and we were very glad to see Dr.

This is one of my favorite poems, and it captures how I feel about Jordan quite well. I’m not sure where I stand on religion these days. I’m a terrible Catholic. But this poem, by ee cummings, expresses so much of how I feel about my daughter. Somewhere I Have Never Traveled – W[Viva], XXIX somewhere i have never travelled,gladly beyond any experience,your eyes have their silence: in your most frail gesture are things which enclose me,

Jordan checked out of pediatric ICU this evening around 6:00pm. She’s back in the oncology unit on the 4th floor of Children’s Hospital. She is very happy to be back near a television that has more than one kids channel. When I left, she was engaged in a Sponge Bob Square Pants marathon. Her health was much improved. Other than a little nausea, she was far more lively. It was a good day for the whole family to catch its breath and recuperate.