Ava Mason's Battle Against Brain Cancer

THIS IS THE UPDATED FUNDRAISER :) 
 
**Update (January 2021) Hello everyone, this is Ava’s older sister, Emma here. For the last couple of updates to this story, our stance has always been to protect Ava’s rights and advocate for her capacity, nothing else. But here we are, over a year after her brain injury and diagnosis and I am having to ask for more donations. But this update is coming entirely from me because my family needs your help and I am sick of watching my mom have to ask for it. I have watched my mother, sister, and brother be abused mentally, emotionally, and financially for over a year. So I'm sorry if this update is not as eloquent as the last, as I am beyond fed up, to say the least.

First, I’ll bring everyone up to speed on why exactly I am requesting donations. This month, our mom was served with papers by Ava’s father, Eddie, suing her for modification of custody of my and Ava’s brother, Samuel, who is 16 years old. This comes conveniently within the week of a court hearing held virtually determining the child support due from Eddie. In this hearing he could not state how much income he makes, did not know what was on his taxes (despite it literally being a hearing regarding what’s on his taxes to determine the amount of support), and admitting he does not have insurance and does not provide that, or any financial assistance to Sam. Sam has heard from his father twice since June 2020, both times initiated by Sam, crying and begging for answers on why his father cut him off. He has received absolutely no financial support from him this entire year. So not only is Eddie not supporting Sam in any way at all, but he is forcing our mom to pay for a lawyer to respond to this with money that is desperately needed for our family’s livelihood. Sam is 16, there should be no reason that custody is being modified with the father not even being slightly present in the child’s life. Especially when that child is less than 1.5 years away from being a legal adult. An open line of communication has ALWAYS been established for Eddie to reach out to Sam or Ava, and not only has he not used it, but has lied in court documents stating our mom is preventing him from contacting them. This is 100% false and he knows it but has continued to spread misinformation about the nature of our family. So rather than save up for a car for Sam or pay off his braces (that Eddie is legally required to pay half of but hasn’t spent a dime), we will have to pay for a lawyer to be present at a trial that would not be happening in the first place if he simply sent a text or made a call. It is also worth noting that Ava has not heard from her father since 2 weeks before her 18th birthday on June 21, 2020. Her birthday, Christmas, and her 1 year anniversary of her diagnosis came and went without so much as an email. And yes, she does have her own phone number and email that have always been available.

I have decided to keep this update under this GoFundMe, because, from the beginning, this fundraiser has been established to pay for a lawyer to constantly be responding to Eddie's petitions of separating our family (last June we got 4 petitions in 1 week). Our mother is the ONLY provider of both Ava and Sam and, as most adults would be, is struggling to keep up with these legal demands while trying to provide her children with a fulfilling and healthy life. The costs of caring for Ava are not little and have added up tremendously over the past year. I sincerely hope this is the last update to this page, and that we can live peacefully as a family without the added immense stress of legal dealings. Thank you for your continued support, words cannot express how much your donations and words of kindness have helped. ***



Update (June 2020): Since her discharge from the hospital, Ava has recovered immensely mentally and physically and continues her fight every single day through physical therapy. She puts work into her battle every day and is more determined than ever for her wishes to be heard and respected. This money will help her mom, Jen, continue to fight for Ava’s spoken wishes and to legally protect her rights as she turns 18 in just a few short days.

Ava's Story: Ava (18 years old) is a 9-year cancer survivor of T-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma with ambiguous lineage and was diagnosed on Christmas Eve 2010 at the tender age of 8. She fought for 2.5 years, enduring chemotherapy and radiation treatments. Once she finished treatment, she thrived as a normal child for 6.5 years until falling unresponsive on 12/20/19. She was life-flighted to CHOP and her brain herniated in the transfer.

In the early hours of 12/21/19, she endured a debulking craniotomy of a grade 4 glioblastoma brain tumor. This tumor was unfortunately caused by the radiation treatment she received for her lymphoma cancer. The surgery resulted in approx 60% removal whereas the remaining tumor is inoperable. Ava has her mom, sister, and brother averting from normal life to help fight with her. We have received so much love and support and appreciate the kindness we have been shown. If you would like to help her mom, Jennifer, her sister, Emma, and her brother, Sam, feel free to donate anything you can. 

It is during times like these that everyone wonders what they can do to help. We endlessly appreciate the support but unfortunately, the best help we can ask for is financial assistance to help protect Ava’s legal rights as an 18-year-old. 

Thank you for reading and thank you for donating. Ava and her family appreciate it very much.