Master Sergeant Douglas DJ Jordan’s story is like so many others, yet unlike any other story you’ve ever heard. One fateful day he sat across from his doctor, who gave him a diagnosis that left him reeling. As she spoke, the smile on his face began to fade. It was as if with each word uttered darkness filled the room.
MSgt Jordan, the Specialty Clinic should have shared this information with you by now …. You have cirrhosis of the liver, and you will need to have a liver transplant. …if you don’t receive a liver in time, You Will Die.
His mind went numb as he struggled with the reality that this was the beginning of a new uphill battle while simultaneously coming to terms with the fact that life as he knew it was ending. Worse than dealing with this devastating diagnosis, DJ was forced to face the unknown. He had never had to contemplate the possibility much less the process of needing a life-saving organ, and he had no idea if it would even be possible. He had always known he was strong, courageous, and unafraid of new challenges, after all that’s what lead him to join the Air Force, but in the coming years, DJ would learn just how strong his will to survive was.
Beyond Color is the inspiring story of DJ’s extraordinary journey to the brink of death and back. It chronicles the unimaginable twists and turns that kept DJ moving forward despite harrowing obstacles like when his petit one-hundred-and-forty-pound frame ballooned to over one hundred and ninety pounds. He soon learned that this unexpected weight gain was a telltale sign that his condition was deteriorating. As time went on the distinguished Master Sergeant would learn that this disease would not only ravage his body but would also try to destroy his mind. Desperately in need of an organ, teetering on the edge of sanity and not wanting to alarm his family and friends, DJ suddenly found himself lost in a city he had never been to. What follows is one man’s story of his fight and determination to stay alive. Beyond Color tells it all.
