Neither Kira nor Chad Gordon knew much about childhood cancer. But when their daughter, Adley Gordon, was diagnosed with B-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia just two weeks shy of her second birthday, Chad said they “had no choice but to become specialists in childhood cancer.”
On February 10, 2022, Adley was diagnosed with childhood cancer. Leading up to her diagnosis, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, any symptoms Adley had were not as noticeable. But looking back, Chad said Adley was very lethargic. She would wake up at 6 a.m. every day as an early riser and would be back asleep in your arms by 8 a.m. Her pediatrician said that it was probably the result of a virus going around. Then Chad and Kira started to notice extra bruising on Adley but still did not think much of it at the time. “We would just say, ‘Wow, you’re beating yourself up today,” Chad said. They also noticed that they would have to carry Adley everywhere. They thought she was still fighting off that virus and was only tired.
One day, Adley went to daycare and at 9:30 a.m., the daycare owners sent a picture of her standing up, leaning against a table asleep. Luckily, Adley had a pediatrician’s appointment coming up, and Chad said they really needed to bump up the appointment and address it. The pediatrician and RN “ran every lab under the sun,” Chad said, and they did not come back saying it was just a virus. Kira called Chad at work crying, saying there was something more. The pediatrician called them and told them to get to Hershey as soon as possible.
“When you get the words you’re going to Hershey ASAP without a diagnosis in your hand, the worst stuff goes through your head,” Chad said. “They had us ready to go with a room and it’s one of those things you’ll never forget. The doctor came in and said, ‘We need to get her hooked up to blood right away,’ without telling you any information.” Adley’s hemoglobin was the lowest her doctors had seen of any individuals in their entire careers. The doctors reassured Chad and Kira that children are very resilient, but if Chad’s hemoglobin had been that low, he would have been in a coma.
It was at that point that they realized how pale Adley actually looked. “I go back through photos five, six days before the diagnosis, there was no color in her whatsoever,” Chad said. “Even her gums in her smiles were absolutely pure white, it was not red.”
After getting Adley six bags of blood infused, the doctors told Chad and Kira that Adley had leukemia. This created a whole new set of questions for the Gordon Family — what type of leukemia did she have? What was the treatment plan? What could happen throughout treatment? After discovering she had B-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, Adley was in surgery for about 10 hours, getting a bone marrow biopsy, spinal tap, and port placed in her chest. The rush to Hershey, diagnosis, surgery, and everything in between happened in less than 24 hours.
Adley was admitted to Hershey for almost three weeks straight during induction, the first phase of treatment. Chad describes this period of treatment as “excruciating.” The steroids Adley was taking at the time to prepare for her future chemotherapy treatments created intense mood swings and weight retention. In the first 30 days (about 4 and a half weeks), Adley went from weighing 24 pounds, to 40 pounds. She developed diabetes and had to go to physical therapy to learn how to walk and bend over in her newer, heavier body. These steroids also made her eat at all hours of the day, but she would still be sick from the chemo too.
The latest chemo Adley had caused “chemo rash,” a common side effect of chemotherapy treatment. The chemo is so toxic that when she sweats, cries, or does anything that produces water or liquid from her body, a rash or burn is created on her skin. The rash got so bad that it covered Adley’s neck and went all the way down to her legs. It became like a third-degree burn and was raw and red. The Gordon Family took her to Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital, and they were worried about it getting infected — an infection that could land Adley in the hospital for months. They put her back on steroids and gave her a steroid cream, which did not do much to help. During the first three months of her diagnosis, Adley was not yet potty-trained, which also caused chemo rash. The urine in her diapers created burns which have scarred her bottom. Luckily, Adley is now potty trained, and the weather has gotten a little cooler so Adley can play outside, and the rash has started to diminish a bit because she’s not sweating as much.
Adley is now in long-term maintenance for the rest of her treatment, which will hopefully be at the end of May 2024. After that, she will have to have a spinal tap every 3 months to make sure there’s no recurring cell blasts in her spinal cord fluid. There will be different rounds of chemotherapy treatment throughout those, and at the beginning of each three-month period she will take steroids for five to seven days prior to her chemo. The important thing right now, Chad said, is keeping Adley healthy and away from infection.
“When you have no choice, you have to get through it,” Chad said. “When they said, ‘Your child has cancer,’ you have to get through it.” Luckily, the Gordon Family has numerous support systems, but the biggest form of encouragement has been Adley. Everyone who sees how Adley handles the treatment she is going through hops on board to support her and recognizes how much of a “rockstar” she is, Chad said.
The Gordon Family attended THON for the first time in 2023—their first away trip since Adley’s diagnosis. “It was probably the best three-day vacation we’ve ever had,” Chad said. The Adley Gordon Family is paired with Phi Sigma Rho and Chi Phi, who talk to the Gordons about every other day. In September 2023, the Gordon Family raised $10,500 for Four Diamonds through the Play For The Kids fundraiser, which they will be adding to the total for their paired organizations. Last year at THON, Adley participated in the fashion show with Phi Sigma Rho, and they all wore their unicorn onesies. She loved doing the fashion show and getting to sit on her parents’ shoulders and dance to the music.
Chad would not say he’s looking forward to one specific thing with THON, rather he’s looking forward to all of it. He submitted his vacation dates to take THON Weekend off the day the THON 2024 dates were announced. “THON is a miracle for us,” Chad said. “I want to help any family that’s been through this, and as many people as possible. We want to be a part of that miracle. Nobody wants to be in this position, but if you’re in this position, there’s no better place to be than THON.”
On May 16, 2024, Adley took her last dose of Chemo. Chad and Kira described it as “surreal” to see their little 4-year-old superhero take her last round of chemo. Adley had been taking medications and chemo for over 850 days and to just have it stop was “crazy.”
“It was an amazing but scary feeling to think about her body no longer having the drugs assist in her battle against cancer,” the Gordon Family said.
On June 10, 2024, the Gordon Family made their way to Penn State Health Children’s Hospital to celebrate Adley’s bell ringing! Ringing the bell for Adley represented accomplishment, hope and triumph over cancer. Adley was joined by many friends, family and medical staff who cheered her on. The Gordon Family has never seen so many happy tears in one place and they will never forget June 10, 2024!
Adley is reminded on a daily basis that she is now a cancer survivor. She can see the scars, she glares at the photos, she hears the stories, and she remembers the pain, fear, and tears. Adley has monthly labs and scans at Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital, and so far, everything is looking great. The Gordon Family holds many fundraisers and events throughout the year to raise funds for THON and Four Diamonds. The Annual Adley’s Adventure Golf Tournament is always a great time, and everyone loves the sweets that Adley provides at her bake sale and lemonade stands. Adley will continue to make a difference for all children and families faced with this horrible disease, and she will continue to fight for each and every person affected by childhood cancer.
Chad and Kira run @adleysadventure on Instagram and Facebook to document Adley’s journey with childhood cancer and the steps she’s making along the way! #FTK #AdleysAdventure #ChildhoodCancerAwareness
To ensure that THON is able to donate 96 cents of every dollar raised to Four Diamonds at Penn State Health Children’s Hospital, we heavily rely on donor support. These donations provide us the resources to create endless memories for our Four Diamonds families & foster a deep love & connection to our mission for our volunteers through Pre-THON Events, alternative fundraisers, & THON Weekend.
