Love Conquers All
Jordan’s Story
Written by: Kim Stanley
Our oldest daughter, Jordan, and her family moved cross-country from Georgia to Oregon in August of 2016. They loved the Pacific Northwest. Brack, our son in law, was the new physical education teacher in Parkdale, OR where Jordan worked as an instructional assistant as well. Our grandkids, Benton and Parker, loved their new school and friends; they were thriving there.
Less than one year later, Jordan began having vision issues and eventually was diagnosed in June of 2017 with a grade IV brain tumor, a glioblastoma. Because it was located high on her brain stem it was inoperable, and the only course of treatment was radiation and chemotherapy. And lots of prayer.
Shocked and devastated. How could this happen to our sweet girl? To Brack and their young children? They were just beginning their new adventure in Oregon. Life can change in a moment. And moments become sacred and weighty and holy.
I watched my girl begin her new journey as a cancer patient. What I saw was a beautiful young woman full of much grace in the midst of this debilitating disease with her amazing husband beside her. Their love story was a special one from the start, and this would only prove to mine the pure gold from it.
Jordan began radiation and oral chemotherapy.
She was in a wheelchair and gradually lost the full use of her legs and the ability to feed herself. By this time, her Dad and I were able to temporarily relocate to Oregon from Georgia to be with her and Brack and the kids.
We helped care for her every day; we watched our daughter fight this battle with every ounce of her beautiful spirit. Though it was tearing us apart on the inside, we were so grateful to be there with her and treasured each second.
Despite her growing physical limitations, I never once heard Jordan complain. She made plans every day for us to go somewhere which meant we had ample opportunity to learn proper wheelchair transfer in and out of their van. That became frustrating and humorous (at Jordan’s expense) at the same time. I’m thankful for the grace she gave to us as we navigated through all that. There was always someone visiting her at the house, to share a story, a corny joke, or a meal.
Every day, moments became precious to all of us. The hard stuff got harder, and the community rallied around the Hassell family even more. These precious people wrapped their arms and lives around Jordan, Brack and Benton and Parker; and us too. Treasure in the darkness. Watching our kids walk through cancer was pure hell, but the saving grace of a loving community’s embrace was a sweet glimpse of redemption.
“Watching our kids walk through cancer was pure hell, but the saving grace of a loving community’s embrace was
a sweet glimpse of redemption.”
As believers in Christ, we prayed and prayed for her physical healing. We prayed for strength and grace for her, Brack and the kids. A heart wrenching answer to that prayer came when she left us on May 29, 2018. But in those holy moments, there was a relief in watching her leave that body of suffering and run into the arms of Jesus. Our journey of grief continues. We miss her so much. My heart cries for my son in law and my grandchildren; for my other children who lost their big sister. But, peace and comfort are ours in Christ. Because of Jesus, Jordan is more alive than ever. Because of Jesus, grace carries us as we cling to Him. We tell her story by loving one another. That’s what she would want us to do.