Love for Avalynn

Avalynn has always been an active, advanced, and extremely healthy child. However, shortly after celebrating her second birthday she had a small fall in the neighbor's yard. At the time, this accident seemed insignificant. But, looking back we realize that this was the moment that started our nightmare. After the fall Avalynn was immediately seen by two different doctors who each assured us she was fine. When she continued limping a week later she was referred to a pediatric orthopedic doctor who eventually identified healing of hairline fractures in each leg. Soon after that, she stopped walking or bearing any weight on her legs. Avalynn’s demeanor changed and she just simply didn’t look well. She was taken to the orthopedic doctor multiple times a week to monitor her legs. Eventually, she began experiencing random fevers that weren't accompanied with any other symptoms.

On Thursday, January 28th, Avalynn was taken to the pediatrician again. This time there was a small amount of blood in her stool. Plus, her eyes were swollen, bruises started to appear on her body and there were small red spots everywhere. (We now know these are called, petechiae.) It was all dismissed as a virus! By Saturday morning, after more than a month of not being heard, her parents demanded blood work! Within an hour of having her blood drawn, they received a call to immediately return to the ER. After arriving, Avalynn was quickly transferred to All Children’s Hospital in St. Pete where it was concluded that she has Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Pre-B. Within the first three days at All Children's, Avalynn received multiple platelet and blood transfusions. She also battled fevers that reached 105 degrees, and endured two surgeries (one for a bone marrow biopsy and another to insert a chemotherapy port and spinal tap). On Tuesday, February 2nd, Avalynn began what will be two and a half years of Chemotherapy treatments! The current hospital stay will be a minimum of 11 days and she will have multiple scheduled 4-5 day stays in the future. She will also be brought to St. Pete from Sarasota 2 times a week for the next six months for chemotherapy treatment. After that, she will take oral doses of chemo daily with only one visit to St. Pete per month for the remainder of her recovery.

Anyone who knows Avalynn knows that she is a spunky little lady with a lot of fight in her. She is full of life and one of the most loving children you’ll ever meet. We are sure that she will be just fine, as are her doctors. However, she and her parents have a long road to recovery ahead of them. Her daddy is a police officer and her mommy is an elementary school teacher. They live on a fixed income and are in desparate need of financial support from the community they each serve so willingly. Please consider donating towards their uncovered out of pocket expenses, so that they may focus on healing their baby girl, Avalynn.  Any amount is helpful and appreciated.  Thank you in advance for your love and generosity. They are forever grateful!