Friends of Jordan 5K & Kids' Run

At eight weeks old, Dalton developed eczema, along with other skin infections and sores. The family sought help from pediatricians and dermatologists alike, but no matter what anybody did, his skin would not heal. The pediatric dermatologist that Dalton’s family spoke to was suspicious of his constant infections, so they send the family to the Doernbecher Children’s Hospital hematology and oncology unit. There, they looked at Dalton’s blood work. On August 15, 2013, when Dalton was only eleven months old, his family got a call from the doctors at Doernbecher: Dalton had no neutrophils, a type of white blood cell with enzymes that digest microorganisms. After five days of tests, including a bone biopsy, Dalton and his family were sent home. Less than a week later, though, the stunned doctors told Dalton’s family that they found no neutrophils or T-cells, another type of white blood cell, in his immune system. On that day, August 23, 2013, eleven-month old Dalton was diagnosed with Severe Combined Immunodeficiency (SCID).
From August to December, Dalton and his family were in complete isolation in their home.

On December 3, they were admitted to Doernbecher, where he had his Hickman catheter placed and received his first doses of anti-seizure medicine. From December 4-11, Dalton underwent three types of high-dose chemotherapy to destroy what was left of his immune system. His reactions to the chemotherapy ranged from mucositis (similar to awful canker sores) to severe itching. During his stay in the hospital in early December, Dalton also had weekly platelet transfusions, of which he was allergic to. At one point, Dalton was even sedated and incubated, and when he couldn’t keep his oxygen levels up, he was admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit.

On December 13, Dalton had his bone marrow transplant. Bone marrow transplants are necessary to save the lives of children with SCID. Dalton’s bone marrow wasn’t producing white blood cells to fight off infections and diseases; the new, healthy bone marrow will be able to produce those cells and keep his immune system afloat. His transplant was successful, and to this day Dalton remains 100% donor cells! Although Dalton is on the road to recovery (he got his Hickman catheter removed on July 16), he still requires medical treatment. His family is also still working through his past medical bills. Please join us at the Friends of Jordan 5K & Kids’ Run or donate to this event to create a community of courage for Dalton and his family and to help offset his past and future medical bills.

The event is on October 11, 2014 at Forest Grove High School in Oregon. There is both a 400m kids’ run for ages seven and under and a 5K fun run and walk for all ages. There will be a raffle with four fun family items and music at this event. One raffle ticket guaranteed with each registration. If you wish to purchase more raffle tickets, they can be purchased for $1/ticket during event registration. There are 18 event shirts remaining - they are nice, Hanes athletic tees. First come, first serve during registration. Registration is open - help us reach our goal of 225 participants/$6,000 by registering today! If you cannot make the event but still want to support this little superhero, please consider donating. Donation details are available on our website.

Email friendsofjordanfunrun@gmail.com for questions, comments, or concerns. Our website is http://funrunwalk.wix.com/friendsofjordan, and it has all the event information and registration details. Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter (@FOJ5K) to stay up to date with information!

About the event coordinator: Jessi is a junior at Valley Catholic High School. This is her second year coordinating the event. The first year, the event raised $4,500 for a nine-month old who passed away from SCID. Jessi participates in many school activities, including two varsity sports teams, three music ensembles, three clubs, student government, and a myriad of other service activities. Jessi hopes to attend McGill University to study environmental biology and French.