My Beautiful Daughter Ava
Shared by Ava’s Mommy, Gina
**Since writing this beautiful note about her daughter (below), Gina updated Ava’s Caringpage explaining that Ava’s hospital stay on Sept.4th was going to be her last planned hospital stay for this phase of her treatment. Having to travel back and forth to the hospital has been very difficult for Ava and her family, so they were very much looking forward to being home, as a family again.
“I cannot express how proud I am of Ava & my whole family! Watching Ava go through some pretty tough times in the hospital was not fun, and I was completely powerless in helping her at certain times. Through this I’ve watched her grow & become a stronger girl. She has been so positive, on her last night Ava made a big poster & hung it her window that said ‘Finding a Cure Begins with Hope’. I feel like now that she was able to get through this, she can get through anything! Her next phase starts in 2 weeks”.
Below is Gina’s special note about her amazing daughter Ava
My daughter Ava has always been a healthy strong girl mentally & physically. Before she had cancer she played soccer, gymnastics, and did swimming. She is very social & was always planning things with her friends.
In February 2013 we noticed a bump on her head. Ava can play rough with her big brother so we just thought that she bumped her head while rough housing. After a week the bump wasn’t going away and it seemed to get bigger, I decided to take Ava to her doctor. Her doctor checked the bump & said it was simply a cyst & we should just leave it alone. No cause for alarm. She did tell us if it seemed to bother we could take her to a dermatologist & have them look at it. We decided we wanted it removed & we took her to the dermatologist, she said the same thing it was just a cyst & we can leave it alone. My husband & I pressed her to remove it. The doctor said she could do this in office numbing the area & it would only take a half an hour. This took three hours, at first I was able to stay with Ava in the office & I could tell the doctor was struggling to remove the so called cyst, she asked me to leave the room.
This was so difficult to watch my little girl go through. The doctor had the cyst tested & a couple of weeks later we got the results for some reason I had a bad feeling & I asked my husband to talk to the doctor while I waited in the waiting room with Ava. Once we got home we got Ava occupied & my husband told me in another room that Ava had Lymphoma. I’ve never seen my husband cry until that day. My heart sank & I was in complete shock.
We met with Ava’s oncologist on a Friday. Ava’s 9th birthday was on Saturday and she was able to have her birthday party. That Monday she was admitted into Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles. She had a port put into her chest & a lumbar punch with chemo. Since then she has had numerous hospital stays. Several lumbar punches with chemo. Many blood transfusions. She has gotten sick, lost her hair, had to stop going to school, and she can no longer leave the house because the risk of infection is too high. She has never complained.
She has kept my husband & I in good spirits with her great outlook. She plans on making crafts so she can sell them & raise money for children’s cancer. She’s always making crafts for her friends & family too. I’ve watched my daughter go from being a very active soccer girl to having to use a wheelchair. Currently I’m at Ava’s bedside at the hospital she’s getting a heavy dose of chemo thru her port plus 2 other chemo’s, and she is making a necklace for her friend. She feels terrible, but she has the most beautiful heart. She is absolutely beautiful inside & out. She’s my hero! Even during her toughest times she’s thinking of ways to help other kids.”
Please join us in sending Ava lots of notes of encouragement. As Ava says, “Finding a Cure Begins With Hope”. Let’s give Ava all the hope and encouragement she needs to beat this. Visit Ava at https://www.carepages.com/carepages/AvaRich