Boston Marathon

She’s running Boston so children like her daughter get access to healthcare

Jordan Whitaker is running the 2026 Boston Marathon for Mass. Eye and Ear.

Jordan Whitaker is running the 2026 Boston Marathon. (Photo courtesy of Jordan Whitaker)

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Name: Jordan Whitaker
Age: 25
From: Deering, New Hampshire

I am running the Boston Marathon for team Mass. Eye and Ear.

I am running on behalf of my now 8-year-old daughter who was a patient at Mass. Eye and Ear when no doctor in NH was willing to help. She had infected cysts in her sinuses that sat on her facial nerve and became so infected they were blocking her external ear canal. Due to her age and size (she was 4), no one in NH was willing to help.

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Mass. Eye and Ear was AMAZING. They got her set up with an MRI, a sleep study, and surgery date. They discovered severe sleep apnea, and decided to remove her tonsils adenoids and were able to remove the cyst without disturbing her facial nerve so she still has feeling and movement in her face!

I am running so other kids like her can have access to an amazing health care team!

Editor’s note: This entry may have been lightly edited for clarity or grammar.

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Annie Jonas is a Community writer at Boston.com. She was previously a local editor at Patch and a freelancer at the Financial Times.

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