No longer tethered to the bulky oxygen tank she had to take with her pretty much everywhere, Jordan Yocham is enjoying her newfound freedom.
The 19-year-old Iolan returned home Feb. 28 after spending more than 3 1/2 months in St. Louis, where she underwent a double lung transplant in early December.
Jordan suffers from cystic fibrosis, a genetic disorder that compromises her lungs, pancreas and other organs from a build-up of thick, sticky mucus.
While the disease will be forever present in her body, Jordan has a new lease on life by being able to take strong, deep breaths and a return of energy typical for a teenager.
“There’s a lot I can do now,” said Jordan, daughter of Jeff Yocham and Carrie Stiffler. “I can play with my nephew. I like riding my minibike, and working with my horses.”
Jordan splits time with her parents, living with Carrie and Valerie Morrison in an Iola apartment and with Jeff and Lynda Beth in Gas.
JORDAN was diagnosed with CF at 6 months, after doctors noticed she had difficulty gaining weight.
She was diagnosed with “delta 508,” the most common — and most severe — strain of the disease, a genetic mutation possible only when both parents are carriers of the CF gene.
“The strange part is my mom and dad both needed to have the gene for me to be the carrier, and Jeff’s parents needed to have the gene for him to be the carrier,” Carrie said.
However, Jordan is the first from either side of the family to have been diagnosed with CF.
“Her brothers aren’t carriers, either,” Carrie said of Roman, 24, and Dallas, 23. “So where does it come from?”
Even with the early diagnosis and regular treatment, Jordan and her mother were aware it would likely worsen to the point a lung transplant was needed.
She did relatively well as a child, but over time her symptoms worsened.
Trips to the doctor became so frequent, Carrie eventually pulled her daughter from USD 257 in order to have her home-schooled because she had missed so many classes.
By 2015, Jordan required an oxygen tube, first only at night, but eventually during her waking hours as well.
