Ava’s Journey

Ava’s Journey Ava’s fight against B cell acute lymphatic leukemia. Follow along as we navigate a new normal.

This battle will take all the prayers and support possible. ❤️‍🩹💝🎗️🎀

Day 4: Awareness brings knowledge. Knowledge helps bring change 🎗️
09/04/2026

Day 4: Awareness brings knowledge. Knowledge helps bring change 🎗️

09/04/2026

While most people are "aware" of childhood cancer, many are unaware of the critical issues that surround it. Research funding for childhood cancer is inadequate, and the long-term effects of chemotherapy on young, developing bodies can be devastating. The financial strain placed on families can be overwhelming. Throughout the journey from diagnosis to treatment, and even into survivorship or bereavement, children and their families face immense physical and daily emotional challenges. This burden extends to siblings and can strain school and social relationships, all while the persistent fear of cancer recurrence looms in the background.

Raising awareness is not just about acknowledging the existence of childhood cancer; it is about fostering new hope. We must advocate for early detection, pursue better treatments and outcomes, be educated to make informed choices, eliminate barriers to care, enhance research funding, and cultivate supportive communities like Momcology.

Until we achieve all of the pieces above (and so much more), our hearts can't heal without much greater awareness for childhood cancer.

Day 1 of Childhood Cancer Awareness Month: I have had a lot ask about how we knew or what made us take her in, but to be...
09/01/2026

Day 1 of Childhood Cancer Awareness Month:
I have had a lot ask about how we knew or what made us take her in, but to be honest we did not know.
In March of this year we started taking afternoon walks after dinner. The kids loved it, and it was good for everyone! After a week or so Ava stopped wanting to walk, but wanted to go. We didn’t think anything about it and figured “toddler stage.” Now, I look back and wonder if that was the first warning sign.
Ava started napping longer and wanting to sleep in. We just figured growth spurt 🤷🏼‍♀️. Then she sprang up with random fever, but better within 24 hours. It was weird, but not alarming.
Last week of March approached and Ava got sick. At first she was positive for flu. Then 4 days later she was positive for strep. But what was even more odd was her skin started to yellow. I swore she was yellow when I took her in the first time, but it was chalked up to lighting. When I took her back 4 days later, she also had signs of petechia. I had seen petechia on her before when she was a baby, but it came and went. Once again not to alarmed by it. They sent us for a blood draw for Rocky Mountain Spotted Tick Fever. Then we were to wait 10 days for results. Until then she started amoxicillin and doxycycline.
The weekend passed, and I made the decision to call her pediatrician for an appointment. (She had seen a different doctor due to scheduling the week before.) He immediately noticed her skin and asked if I felt she was yellow. I agreed and showed him the petechia. Within 20 minutes a CBC was drawn, and we were sent to AR Children’s.
I didn’t even park my own car. I handed the keys off and rushed her in. The room filled with nurses and doctors. Before long we had the diagnosis….then it became what’s next. The doctors told us that she was literally a walking miracle because she had zero platelets and her red blood cells were so low they were undetectable. They had no idea how she was even functioning as she ate a sandwich and demanded to scroll her reels. We spent the next 2 days in PICU with bags upon bags of blood and platelets being pushed through two IVs. I honestly can’t even tell you the number because I stopped counting after the 5th bag was hung.
This was just the beginning… 🎗️
Don’t be afraid to ask for a CBC at your kid’s next appointment!

Finishing up phase 4 today. Ava has held strong these past several weeks keeping us on track for the next phase. We are ...
08/31/2026

Finishing up phase 4 today. Ava has held strong these past several weeks keeping us on track for the next phase. We are celebrating the 2 week break and dad’s bday today! Lots of excitement! And we all need a good nap 😅!
Tomorrow, childhood cancer awareness starts…but remember cancer follows no calendar. While yes Ava swept through this phase like a bada$$, tomorrow or even tonight could change for us. Childhood cancer is every single day in our lives and will be until we or it no longer exist. Over the next few weeks I will share information that many don’t think about until they put these shoes on. We celebrate making it through another treatment, but we are humbled by looking at the long, hard road ahead.
Happy Birthday to my husband! 🎉🎂TB to a precious memory ❤️🥰

Clinic went well yesterday. Ava got her shakey and fries right after sedation. It took her a minute to get her wits toge...
08/21/2026

Clinic went well yesterday. Ava got her shakey and fries right after sedation. It took her a minute to get her wits together. Counts looked good to proceed with all the chemo. She has been sleeping off and on to recover. We have one more round in this phase until we move back into Blina.
Edited to add: CSF was clear!

Stayed up later then usual letting Ava snack her little heart out. Tomorrow, she is NPO due to a lumbar and chemo on top...
08/20/2026

Stayed up later then usual letting Ava snack her little heart out. Tomorrow, she is NPO due to a lumbar and chemo on top of regular chemo. 🎗️ Send prayers for us all dealing with a hangry toddler 🫣. Girl has had her heart set on an Oreo cookie every morning through this phase. The first thing I hear in the morning is either, “Where’s my cookie?” or “You wanna wrestle?” 🤷🏼‍♀️😂

Yesterday was clinic! Halfway through phase 4! Ava’s counts were good, so she had her two chemos and then we headed home...
08/11/2026

Yesterday was clinic! Halfway through phase 4! Ava’s counts were good, so she had her two chemos and then we headed home. Our neighbors have been keeping us fed at dinner time on clinic days ❤️! It is truly a blessing as the exhaustion is real.
We really have an amazing village! ❤️🥰

No clinic this week as Ava continues her 10 day rotation. However, I wanted share an unfortunate experience we had durin...
08/06/2026

No clinic this week as Ava continues her 10 day rotation. However, I wanted share an unfortunate experience we had during blina. While I am not looking for sympathies, I want to bring awareness and change to the ER department. I have waited a while to share this story as I was hoping there would be more conversation and commitment to improving any future experience for children with ports.
On a Sunday evening in June, Ava’s bandage covering her port access lifted allowing possible bacteria or dirt exposure. Knowing this, we loaded up and headed to Arkansas Children’s Hospital. This was our 5th time to the ER since April. While nervous due to other patients’ port experiences at the ER, I knew this was the only way to prevent Ava from getting some type of infection and interrupting treatment.
To cut the story short, the room was chaotic and a lot of uncertainty. Unfortunately, Ava was not numbed during the access (a needle shoving through 7 layers of skin), and the nurse missed the port. I was so shocked by what had transpired that I couldn’t even choke out any response. I asked 3 times for them to de-access instead of moving the needle around to try and fix it.
Finally, they de-accessed as I asked them to leave. Ava looked at me and said, “mommy, I am just a baby. Please don’t let them hurt me.” That is a moment I will never forget, like an endless nightmare.
Since that night, I have decided to share our story with several directors and doctors in hopes to change policies to provide better care for children with ports. At this time, I am not sure what has come of it besides conversation. Honestly, I am not even upset with the nurses and asked several times for them to not be reprimanded because while they may have made a mistake the Arkansas Children’s Hospital failed them. This is a problem beyond individuals. I know our little one is not the first to experience some manner of port accessing trauma. I will continue to push and share our story to hopefully make sure no other child or family has to experience this nightmare. 🎗️Sorry is change! 🎗️

This September, Ava’s picture will be displayed on the CureFest Tribute Wall at the National Mall in DC. She will stand ...
08/03/2026

This September, Ava’s picture will be displayed on the CureFest Tribute Wall at the National Mall in DC. She will stand among thousands of brave children—those currently fighting, those who won their battles, and those who fought so hard for a better tomorrow.

From a parent's perspective, we never in a million years imagined this would be our little girl’s life. It is an unfortunate honor to walk alongside other families watching their children fight. We feel deeply blessed by those who fought before us to establish mainstream treatments, and by everyone who has participated in clinical trials to advance medical science. I pray that science and technology continue to progress until cancer is completely cured, so no other child or adult ever has to endure it. ❤️ 💛🎗️

Today consisted of another increased dose of chemo along with her regular chemo. Ava did great and took a good nap on th...
08/01/2026

Today consisted of another increased dose of chemo along with her regular chemo. Ava did great and took a good nap on the ride home. Her counts are on point and 🤞 stay that way! She got more makeup to add to her collection now from both her Aunts…Lord help us all with this one!! 😅

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