For Ava

Our amazing daughter, Ava, has battled cancer, twice. During both periods of treatment she spent large amounts of time in isolation, most recently throughout her stem cell transplant and recovery.

It was incredibly difficult, the isolation affected the whole of our family both, physically and emotionally.  But the kindness and generosity of friends, family and strangers really lifted all of our spirits and helped us to face each day. Receiving a small gift, or even just a message, always brought a welcome feeling of not being alone. In that moment, knowing that someone had thought about your child and/or you, meant the world.

Our aim is to help children and their families who are in the same position that we have been in. 

Last year, with the help of donations we reached families with 'Ava's Advent-ure', donating toy advent calendars to the bone marrow transplant unit and oncology wards at RMCH and the oncology ward at Alder Hey. This gave the kids something to look forward to each day in December and took their minds off their treatment for a short while.

We would love to be able to do the same again this year.

We are also working towards providing bespoke care/treat packages for children and families in isolation on the Bone Marrow Transplant Unit in RMCH. Our hope is that we can provide items that they need or want to make their stay a little less isolating. This could be anything from a special pair of pyjamas, a much wanted toy, to vouchers for the parents/carers to treat themselves to a coffee and cake when they manage to get a break.

We will be arranging various activities in the coming weeks and months to raise funds to fulfil our aims and every donation big or small will make a huge difference. If you are inspired by our story and want to help please consider donating or feel free to organise your own event!

We would love for you to help us let those children and families know that they are not alone.

You can follow our progress here https://www.facebook.com/amazingava/