Jordan Bustillo

MONTREAL REMEMBERED HERO

After Christmas 2015 Jordan was not feeling well. He had headaches, stomach aches and just felt off. This went on for a couple of weeks, but not constant. It was on and off.

On January 16, 2016, the day before Jordan's 23rd birthday he noticed some small red marks under his skin on his chest. At this point I insisted that he go see our family doctor. He went and she sent him for blood tests at the emergency room. That's when we found out he had AML. It was an absolute shock!

He was hospitalized and chemo started on January 20, 2016 and the chemo went quite well. Jordan tolerated the chemo very well and continued to keep fit in his hospital room and worked out with weights and a stationary bike. He went through 3 rounds of chemo at Notre Dame Hospital and was in remission.

Because of the genetic markers of the Leukemia he had, the oncologists strongly recommended that Jordan get a stem cell transplant. Unfortunately no one in the family was a good match, but they found someone in France that donated the stem cells from an umbilical cord.

Jordan had his transplant in August 2016. The procedure went very well. His body accepted the cells and started to reproduce good cells as hoped. Jordan recovered extremely fast. The doctor was amazed at how he had recovered so fast. About 3 months after transplant Jordan was going to the gym and was in incredible physical shape. He reapplied for police academy, since he had been unable to go the first time that he had been accepted because of the Leukemia.

During this time Jordan was going in for periodic checkup to make sure that he was in remission.

In April 2017, after blood tests and feeling a little under the weather we got the worst news possible. The leukemia was back. Jordan was admitted into the hospital and had 2 rounds of different chemotherapy treatments. Neither of them did anything other than make him very sick. Jordan decided that he did not want to do anymore chemo and wanted to come home and enjoy the days he had left with his family. Jordan was in and out of the hospital from April 2017 until August 2017.

As per Jordan's wishes, he passed away at home, surrounded by his family on August 7, 2017.

I am honored to walk with my family in honour of Jordan's memory. His courage, strength and determination to the very end is what I will always admire him for. He definitely left us too soon, but we walk to honour him and the ones still fighting this disease. Together we walk to find a cure and we will not stop until we get there.