February 5, 2010
Baby Avery
Baby Avery
Avery Klemola is 11 months old and lives in Garden City, Michigan with her mom Sheila, dad Shawn, and brothers, Austin and Ben. Last summer Sheila noticed a little bump on Avery’s cheek. It looked innocent at first, but it kept growing and Sheila got concerned. It turned out to be non-rhabdomyosarcoma – a rare cancer that has the characteristics of three different types of cancer, all in one. By this time, the disease had already spread to Avery’s lungs, raising it to Stage 4.
Things looked bleak last fall. Avery had a port inserted in her chest and had four sessions of very aggressive chemotherapy. Since the tumor is attached to her facial nerve, the surgeons wanted to reduce its size before considering surgery. Family and friends rallied together and helped the best they could. People babysat, took the boys to soccer, cleaned Sheila’s house, and went to the hospital with Avery. Fundraisers were organized almost weekly to help the young family with medical bills. Both Sheila and Shawn had to take time off from work to take Avery to chemo sessions and be with the baby on difficult days.
Through the ordeal, Avery did amazingly well. After four rounds of chemo, her cancer has shrunk and there are no traces of lesions in her lungs. She will be undergoing surgery around the time of her first birthday (February 21st) and then have four more sessions of chemo. She is a beautiful, curious, cheerful, little girl, loving and trusting to all around her.
Avery’s mom Sheila is organizing a Relay for Life team in Avery’s honor. Relay for Life is an event that celebrates cancer survivors, and raises funds for the American Cancer Society.
You can log onto Avery’s team site at: http://main.acsevents.org/goto/BabyAvery to make a donation or to join Avery’s team.
Also, you can follow Avery’s journey by logging onto facebook – just type in Avery Klemola in the search box – she has more than 3,500 friends already!
Avery’s aunt Alana and I work together at RepairClinic.com and that is how I heard of Avery’s story. Please join us in helping Avery. I will keep you posted on her progress.
Gracious Living - Day by Day 