Ava, at 17 months, was full of energy, but when she stopped running around and resorted to crawling everywhere, par parents knew something was wrong with her. She was taken to the hospital and on March 12, 2012 at the age of 17 months, Ava was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia. Ava had a broviac line inserted into her chest so she could accept the chemo, fluids, antibiotics, pain medications, etc. She went through 4 rounds of chemo and nearly 5 months in the hospital, she went into remission. A year later, Ava relapsed. She not only had to undergo treatment all over again but she needed different treatment plan for the second fight due to her having had the maximum amount allowed in a lifetime of some of the chemotherapy medications needed to treat her. Ava underwent two additional rounds of chemo, total body irradiation, high dose chemo and an umbilical cord stem cell transplant.
Now over two years post transplant, Ava is doing really well and her doctors are very pleased with her progress. Ava has had some recent challenges with the functionality of her heart but we are working closely with her cardiologist and oncologist to get that under control. This, unfortunately is one of the many risks of battling cancer and having a bone marrow transplant.
Ava has a tremendous amount of energy, she has the kindest heart, she dances to the beat of her own drum and with the exception of a small scar on her chest, no one would ever know she was sick… twice!