Thursday, October 27, 2011

Remembering Ava - 1 year later

Today Anderson Avenue remembers a special child, Ava Sentell.  She lost her battle with Cancer one year ago today at the age of 4.  She was very close to our Anderson Avenue family and it's because of her we have joined the fight against Childhood Cancer with the Rally Foundation.  For more information about her and other children who battle cancer or to join the fight for this underfunded cause, visit www.rallyfoundation.org.

Ava was a brave 4 ½ year-old who was only two weeks away from starting pre-kindergarten when she was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. She had developed a large bump on her head that persisted for nearly two weeks, and a precautionary CT scan showed that she had several bleeds on her brain. From there on out, each day brought on more devastating news as her family learned that she had tumors in her heart, liver, both kidneys, spleen and adrenal gland. Within three days of her first scan, she began her first round of chemo, and her family was suddenly tossed into the world of childhood cancer. All of the pathology tests have been completed and were inconclusive, so her cancer has been called Undifferentiated Sarcoma. Her family was told they might never have an exact diagnosis.  Despite some promising results from chemo, Ava lost her battle 3 months after she was diagnosed.  She leaves two incredible parents, Casey and Christina and her treasured little brother Dylan who will continue to honor by fighting the cause in hope there will soon be a cure.

Ava would always tells her family that she loves everybody, even people she does not know.  She was a spunky spirit with diva style and a million dollar smile.  Today we remember her and send our prayers and love to her family as they struggle to move forward.