7-Year-Old Boy Battling Leukemia Fulfills Dream of Conducting an Orchestra
"There was not a dry eye in the entire auditorium," his father said.
— -- A 7-year-old boy battling leukemia in Alberta, Canada, recently fulfilled his dream of conducting an orchestra.
Donning a tuxedo with penguin tails, 7-year-old Jordan Cartwright led the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra through Canada's national anthem at the Francis Winspear Centre for Music in Edmonton this past Monday.
"There was not a dry eye in the entire auditorium," Jordan's father, Scott Cartwright, told ABC News. "For my wife and I, it was an absolutely and astronomically amazing event."
Cartwright said the moment "is burnt in my memory forever."
"We don't know what tomorrow holds and getting to see our 7-year-old son all done up like a grown-up -- it gave us a glimpse of what he might be in 30 years," Cartwright said. "That is something we'll always cherish."
According to Cartwright, Jordan developed a love for classical music while undergoing aggressive chemotherapy treatments earlier this year. During his hospital stay, the 7-year-old worked with a music therapist, Cartwright said.
"They started working on writing a song together and the chorus of the song goes, 'I am Jordan. I have cancer, but I am so strong,'" Cartwright said. "That therapist really brought light, happiness and joy to Jordan and other children at the hospital in their darkest moments."
Upon learning about Jordan's love of classical music and dream of conducting an orchestra, staff at the the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Northern Alberta teamed up with the Winspear Centre and Edmonton Symphony Orchestra to help Jordan realize his dreams, according to Suzanne Pescod, RMHCNA's director of marketing and communications.
The center's staff and orchestra felt "truly honored to be a part of Jordan's special day," Janice Moore, director of community investment at the Winspear Centre told ABC News.
"Getting to know him and his family has really moved and changed me," Moore said. "So many other people, if put in their position, would have given up at this point. But Jordan and his family have such incredible strength."
Cartwright told ABC News today that the whole experience has been, to him, "the biggest Christmas miracle since the birth of Christ."
"I'd also just love to add that the Cartwright family, on behalf of Canada, wishes America a very merry Christmas," he said with a laugh.
Jordan's friend from the Ronald McDonald House, a little girl with whom he became best friends, was also on the family's mind. Scott Cartwright requested "prayers for Aurora."
"She's holding on by just a thread," Cartwright said. "She needs her own Christmas miracle, too."
Jordan will be continuing his fight against leukemia with more chemotherapy sessions, according to his father.
