Jordan Granberry and Odin Frost met at school when they were 3 years old and have been inseperable ever since.
Beating the odds is great, but beating it with a friend is so much better.
Friendship is one of the most beautiful things in the world. It’s a bond between two people that are not bound by blood or family – that in their own way, they become the person that the other needed the most.
And when you are told at a very young age that you and your friend would die young, a different kind of drive emerges. The road was uphill, but with each other’s help, they conquered it.
2% was the number that floated above Jordan Granberry and Odin Frost.
When Odin’s mom was pregnant with him, she suffered preeclampsia. The doctors had to induce emergency labor. The labor was difficult and Odin came out “barely, barely breathing”.
The situation was so dire that Odin had to be airlifted to a NICU in Dallas where he stayed for two weeks. Odin didn’t get enough oxygen to his brain and it had already caused damage.
“We spent the next three years going to different doctors, different specialists … that’s when they said it would be a two percent survival rate,” Tim Frost said to News 9.
Meanwhile, another baby also suffered the same fate.
Jordan similarly didn’t get enough oxygen when he was born which also led to brain damage. Jordan’s mom said that he might not make it to age 7.
Both parents and kids didn’t give up, though. They never let the diagnosis define their lives and their parents continued to raise them as best they could.
At three years old, the boys met at Boshears School in Tyler.
“I was peeping in the classroom, like all parents do, and I saw Odin behind Jordan’s wheelchair trying to push Jordan. He wasn’t accomplishing a lot but he was trying,” said Donna Granberry. “That was the sweetest thing to me, that warmed my heart. He knew to look out for Jordan. I’m going over here and I want Jordan to come over here with me.”
Since then, the two of them became inseparable. They did things together like playing and studying. Odin’s mom, DeAnda Frost, shares to KLTV that Jordan’s eyes will light up whenever he hears Odin approaching.
The boys weren’t expected to survive childhood.
Now, they are graduating high school side by side at the age of 18. Their graduation didn’t just signify their academic capabilities as individuals. They also defied the odds and made it to one of the most important milestones for a person.
“Graduation is one of those major milestones in any of our lives, but for these guys especially it is because they miss out on so much that other normal youth have the experiences to fulfill,” said Donna. “So, we didn’t want Jordan to miss out on this awesome opportunity,” said Donna to KLTV.
But their parents said that their graduation is just the start.
It was only a mere milestone in the many years ahead of them. And as their parents said, they wished that the boy would still grow up and look after each other.
“As they get older and we’re not here then we want to make sure they’ll continue to look out for one another and be in each other’s lives,” said Donna to KLTV. “No matter what happens, we’re going to do our best to make sure of it. Jordan will be looking out for Odin and Odin will be looking out for Jordan, I have no doubt about that.”
It may have been a long journey but it taught us that friendship will definitely take you a long way. We wish these boys the best of luck.