Fight for Ava
Donation protected
First and foremost, I want to thank you for taking the time to read this post, it truly means a lot.
It is a painful realization to know that the amount of money one has dictates the lifestyle one lives. It's even worse when the amount of money one does not have, threatens the life of someone you love. This campaign is for Ava who needs your help in a BIG way. Hopefully, if we pull together we can make a difference in her life.
If you are not able to help by donating, you can still help in a big way by sharing this story with others; please post this link where others will see it: social media, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc.
Now, here is Ava's story:
For the last 3 years, my sweet 15-year-old cousin Ava has been struggling with several rare and very severe Autoimmune Disease’s that have severely impacted her and her family's life. These diseases are aggressive, attacking her joints, muscles, small capillaries, and her kidneys. She has lost mobility in her hand and is no longer able to open bottles or dress herself. Recently she is having difficulty swallowing and is unable to stand even for short periods of time as the disease is destroying her hip muscles. This disease is a form of Muscular Dystrophy and is extremely severe in Ava’s case. She has a very rare component to the disease that affects the lungs, eventually causing Pulmonary Fibrosis, which is the hardening of the lungs.
My Aunt Shawna Minter and Uncle Cooper Minter recently decided to move from New Jersey to North Carolina to be a little closer to a hospital that specializes in caring for Ava’s rare conditions. (There are only 4 hospitals in the WORLD who specialize in it!) After their first appointment, they were informed that Ava’s disease is progressing too rapidly and that without aggressive treatment, she has a 55% chance of death in a very short period of time and it will 100% leave her extremely disabled. Part of the treatment that she needs is an aggressive immunosuppressant treatment with chemo, very similar to Cancer treatment. This treatment decreases the death rate to about 5-10% and will hopefully slow down the progression. A lot of that treatment will be covered by insurance, thankfully. However, Ava will need extensive therapy to help her gain strength and mobility to combat the progression of her disease processes. She will also need to see Doctors who specialize in these rare diseases so she has a chance at getting to the root cause of the illness to prevent her from having to go through the Cancer treatment again. And she will need to see special Doctors who focus on the Autoimmune Disease that is affecting her kidneys to help her body detox the Cancer treatment and to prevent kidney failure. Unfortunately, none of these things are covered by insurance.
So, this Gofundme campaign is to help my Aunt Shawna and Uncle Cooper pay for medical expenses. As you can imagine, all the treatment and therapy that Ava needs is incredibly expensive, and this is going to be an ongoing journey for them. On top of that, my Aunt had to quit her job to care for Ava and my Uncle’s role is in Construction, and work is never consistent. Without financial help, they will never be able to afford to pay for all the treatment that Ava needs to fight this fight for her life.
It breaks my heart to have to create this because it means that someone I love is going through an extreme struggle, and I know that it is hard for them to ask for help. But I know that asking for help is necessary because Ava's life and quality of life are at stake. They can't do it alone, they need help. These are some of the most loving, caring and generous people I have ever met and I am praying that all of the good they've put into this world will come back to them tenfold.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this. Please keep them in your prayers and lastly, hold those that you love close. <3
It is a painful realization to know that the amount of money one has dictates the lifestyle one lives. It's even worse when the amount of money one does not have, threatens the life of someone you love. This campaign is for Ava who needs your help in a BIG way. Hopefully, if we pull together we can make a difference in her life.
If you are not able to help by donating, you can still help in a big way by sharing this story with others; please post this link where others will see it: social media, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc.
Now, here is Ava's story:
For the last 3 years, my sweet 15-year-old cousin Ava has been struggling with several rare and very severe Autoimmune Disease’s that have severely impacted her and her family's life. These diseases are aggressive, attacking her joints, muscles, small capillaries, and her kidneys. She has lost mobility in her hand and is no longer able to open bottles or dress herself. Recently she is having difficulty swallowing and is unable to stand even for short periods of time as the disease is destroying her hip muscles. This disease is a form of Muscular Dystrophy and is extremely severe in Ava’s case. She has a very rare component to the disease that affects the lungs, eventually causing Pulmonary Fibrosis, which is the hardening of the lungs.
My Aunt Shawna Minter and Uncle Cooper Minter recently decided to move from New Jersey to North Carolina to be a little closer to a hospital that specializes in caring for Ava’s rare conditions. (There are only 4 hospitals in the WORLD who specialize in it!) After their first appointment, they were informed that Ava’s disease is progressing too rapidly and that without aggressive treatment, she has a 55% chance of death in a very short period of time and it will 100% leave her extremely disabled. Part of the treatment that she needs is an aggressive immunosuppressant treatment with chemo, very similar to Cancer treatment. This treatment decreases the death rate to about 5-10% and will hopefully slow down the progression. A lot of that treatment will be covered by insurance, thankfully. However, Ava will need extensive therapy to help her gain strength and mobility to combat the progression of her disease processes. She will also need to see Doctors who specialize in these rare diseases so she has a chance at getting to the root cause of the illness to prevent her from having to go through the Cancer treatment again. And she will need to see special Doctors who focus on the Autoimmune Disease that is affecting her kidneys to help her body detox the Cancer treatment and to prevent kidney failure. Unfortunately, none of these things are covered by insurance.
So, this Gofundme campaign is to help my Aunt Shawna and Uncle Cooper pay for medical expenses. As you can imagine, all the treatment and therapy that Ava needs is incredibly expensive, and this is going to be an ongoing journey for them. On top of that, my Aunt had to quit her job to care for Ava and my Uncle’s role is in Construction, and work is never consistent. Without financial help, they will never be able to afford to pay for all the treatment that Ava needs to fight this fight for her life.
It breaks my heart to have to create this because it means that someone I love is going through an extreme struggle, and I know that it is hard for them to ask for help. But I know that asking for help is necessary because Ava's life and quality of life are at stake. They can't do it alone, they need help. These are some of the most loving, caring and generous people I have ever met and I am praying that all of the good they've put into this world will come back to them tenfold.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this. Please keep them in your prayers and lastly, hold those that you love close. <3
Organiser and beneficiary
Leah Walton
Organiser
Hampstead, NC
Shawna Minter
Beneficiary