Jordan's wish to see an El Clásico soccer match

My journey started back in 2007. I was a healthy kid, running around and doing what normal 6 year old boys do. My mom had started to notice weird bruises on my body, not from any roughhousing I was doing, but unexplainable bruises. Blood work showed low blood counts… the diagnosis: Aplastic Anemia. Over the next 9 years, I had multiple treatments and multiple relapses. We could never make it past a couple of years in remission before another relapse. Constantly being tired and being told you can’t play sports is not what any young boy wants.

Late in 2014, we found out that I was eligible for a Wish through the Make-A-Wish Foundation. At first, my parents were hesitant and wanted the wish to go to someone who needed it more than I did but they eventually came around to the idea. My wish was to see El Clásico, the soccer match between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid. To this day I still remember the dates of the trip, March 18-23, 2015. Make-A-Wish made the trip truly magical, from our tours of the city set up for us, to the soccer match itself. Everything was taken care of. My wish has had a lasting impact on me. At the time, it gave me hope. Hope that there was light at the end of the tunnel of a long, grueling battle that no child deserves to go through. It also gave me hope later in my life.

I relapsed 2 more times between 2015 and 2021, which is when I underwent a bone marrow transplant, the definitive cure for my disease. The month of pre-transplant chemo and radiation and post-transplant chemo and recovery was truly the most difficult month of my life. I was weak, exhausted, had no appetite, and was nauseous practically 24/7. But there was one thing I always looked back on to give me hope, my wish. Hope that life would get better, that there was light at the end of the tunnel. I consider myself lucky. I am here today to be able to tell my story. There are so many kids out there who are not able to tell their stories. The money donated to Make-A-Wish helps these kids experience the true magic of a Wish that will give them the hope to keep fighting and to see that there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Today I am 4 years post-bone marrow transplant and am a 3rd year medical student at the Indiana University School of Medicine. My personal experiences as a patient and the doctors that cared for me inspired me from an early age to pursue a career in medicine.