Caregiver

In July 1993, I was blessed with my son, Andre Christopher Jordan. He's my heart, pride and joy. Throughout his young life, Andre has humbled me with his love, kindness, strength, loyalty, and faith. Two years ago, he and his fiancé, Ana were blessed with their son. He was overjoyed with being a new father and had marriage plans in the works.

As you can see, she's the beauty in the grey sweatshirt, mi amor. My daughter Erica survived leukemia, she was diagnosed when she was only two years old.

I'm the blessed momma that gets to celebrate this amazing woman of courage, who is now 28 years old!

Dave and I have been a part of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) since 1998. I can’t even remember how many Team In Training events we’ve done. We have both done at least one a year if not more since Michael, our son, was diagnosed.

My only child was my heart and soul!  He was a son to be proud of in so many ways.  Kind, gentle, and caring was only the tip of the iceberg to his character.  He had lots of friends and was always ready to help when called.  He had just finished his freshman year in college when he was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma.  It changed our world.

Feb 10, 2012 has forever changed our lives. Joseph was 6 years old and in his fifth month of kindergarten. 

For the past nine years as a physician assistant, I have had the privilege of taking care of acute leukemia, high-risk lymphoma and bone marrow transplant patients at the Intermountain Blood and Marrow Transplant Program.

My wife and I would have never heard of The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS) if it were not for losing our 12-year-old daughter on March 12, 2013 to undiagnosed leukemia. If you've heard me speak of my daughter Sophia, you've heard this word: perfect. Her laugh, her eyes, her beautiful smile were all perfect. Sophia was a loving, kind and compassionate child.

On Oct. 24, 2011, my husband, Rob Smith, was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). He had a bad case from the beginning. He was FLT3 positive and had poor cytogenetics. He received so many rounds of treatments I can not keep count.

My caregiver journey began in 2005, when my husband found a lump on his neck and was diagnosed with a rare form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. After being admitted to the hospital for nine rounds of chemotherapy, he went into remission.