Ava Lavenburg

They say it takes a village to raise a child - I’m calling in on Ava Lavenburgs’s village.

Ava was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) Type B on January 6th, 2018. Her active treatment consists of a 2.5 year plan incorporating seven different phases. In early December 2017, a lot of her symptoms started in her extremities and random fevers including night sweats. This brought about many tests after Chris and Benita followed their gut instincts that this is something more than just an UTI or typical kid infection, which was her initial diagnosis.  Thankfully they did follow these instincts since Leukemia is a fast acting cancer where the cells duplicate rapidly.  The doctors said the entire process, from the “first” cell of leukemia to the “end”,  is about three months, untreated.  Ava was at about the half way mark when she was diagnosed.

Ava is now a newly big sister (and middle sister) too - Ethan was born on December 28th, 2017, a week before her diagnosis and prognosis. This made for a very tested month with Ava in the hospital and new addition added to the family.

Thus far, Ava has been doing amazing handling her treatments. Phase one was very crucial and taxing on Ava - both physically and emotionally. She was put on strong doses of chemo which in turn made her gain a ton of weight in a mere 3 weeks. Added weight onto  her already weakened bones meant she could barely walk. Thankfully that phase is over and her weight went back down,  now she is able to play more like a 2-year-old should.  There are good days and bad days, as expected. Currently, Ava  gets chemo everyday along with weekly chemo treatments at Children’s Mercy Hospital. While there, she endures spinal taps, bone marrow samples, frequent blood transfusions and has chemo administered through her port. She wears her Disney princess costumes and the nurses and staff are incredible with distractions and fun play despite all the needles and bone marrow retrievals. In the future, some of her upcoming treatments will include hospital admittance for 2 weeks.  

Cancer is a horrible disease that changes your whole world in the blink of an eye - especially when  it involves the one thing you care about the most, your child.  Imagine giving brand new life one week then the next week being told another life was on the verge of being taken away.  Imagine being told on a Saturday while holding your baby, your child has cancer but having to wait two days later to find out what type, her prognosis, and when to start treatment due to it being a weekend.  She was in a lot of pain and discomfort.  Imagine the future worries of any of these children coming down with a simple cold. It can be devastating and would make any parent’s heart skip a beat. Watching someone you love go through so much, so young, is heart wrenching.  Ava should be focused on playing , singing, enjoying life while getting to know her new baby brother.  Instead she is going through a roller coaster of physical and emotional distress.  

Ava has an estimated  90-95% cure, rate which her family is super thankful for.  So they take it day-by-day, thankful they caught it, and are lucky to fight it.

Ava is a tough girl. We know this. And she is in good hands. I started this fund to ensure her and her family have less stress facing them through this process. Taking days off work every week for treatments, hospital stays, medical bills , days that Ava is feeling seriously ill and needs extra care  due to chemo, etc.  Losing is not an option, even financially.  Thank you for your support . 

Checks can also be mailed. They need to be made out to Chris or Benita Lavenburg and mailed to following address:

Life Family Chiropractic
211-B Delaware Street
Leavenworth, KS 66048

Thank you,
Dr. Kristen Simpson, DC
-Life long friend of the family