Jordan Smith Christmas

Cancer patient Jordan Smith safely back in SA after a holiday in the UK that went horribly wrong

Things didn’t go according to plan for 12-year-old Jordan Smith while he was on holiday in the UK. He has since been rushed from Paris to Durban to receive urgent treatment.

Jordan Smith Christmas

In 2014, 12-year-old Jordan Smith spent 107 days in hospital in Pretoria undergoing 19 chemo treatments and seven operations. He has Chrondoblastic Osteosarcoma, also known as bone cancer. In September he underwent his final chemotherapy treatment with the promise from his uncle that if he made it through he would be sent on a holiday to the UK.

 Jordan Smith

He arrived in the UK on 27 December after a bumpy journey. His parents, Tracy and Andrew Smith, shared a post on the Facebook page explaining that Jordan was not well. He was promised a trip to Disneyland in France but was rushed to a children’s hospital shortly after arriving in Paris, only to discover that the cancer had spread to his lungs and brain. The family sat awaiting an emergency medical escort back to South Africa on 31 December.

The doctors in Paris could not begin treatment as the Smiths were not financially covered, and they were told by Discovery Health that it would cost an excess of R1.1 million to get Jordan medically assisted back to South Africa in order for him to receive necessary radiation treatment. According to a Facebook post on Jordan’s Journey on 1 January, the hospital in Paris had contacted the South African embassy for assistance without success and the Smiths’ travel insurance had offered to pay out R100 000. Tracy and Andrew Smith appealed to followers of Jordan’s Facebook Page to help by depositing money into their bank account or the Cupcakes of Hope fund account.

In another Facebook post on 3 January, Tracy and Andrew explained that Discovery Health was helping to pay for Jordan’s flight to Johannesburg. Later that day, paramedics arrived at the hospital in Paris to escort Jordan to Charles de Gaulle Airport. He has since flown to Johannesburg and has been transported by ambulance to Durban. Smith arrived in Durban on 4 December and is currently in surgical ICU. A Facebook post indicates that the doctors are reviewing his scans and it is hoped that Smith’s treatment will begin shortly.

Jordan's Journey 2

 

Image and Facebook posts: www.facebook.com/jordansmiraclejourney