Recap

You probably have many pieces of information already, but just in case, this is to summarize where we are in terms of Ava's treatment plan.

As you probably know from the Team Brighter Days page, Ava's pain medication regimen was changed a couple days ago which has allowed her to be more alert during the day (hooray!) and the radiation burn pains in her perineal area (and urethra) have improved a lot. Thank You, Lord! Thank you for your prayers.

Ava has remained hospitalized and in isolation due to very little immune function. Her ANC had been zero all week, but went up to 35 today. If her ANC reaches a certain threshold (not sure how many hundreds), she could be discharged! It would be a wonderful thing if she could go see some fireworks this July 4th!

Ava is scheduled to get another LP this Tuesday. Praying for no more disease in the CNS system. They plan to get a bone marrow biopsy the second week of July to assess disease level and efficacy of the chemo/Mylotarg regimen she just received. If disease is still present, Ava will get another round of Mylotarg. If there's no disease (i.e. remission), they will take next steps toward prepping for transplant.

Meanwhile, Esther mentioned on the FB page that there is a very promising drug called Venetoclax that was tested on Ava's cells and shown to be effective at eradicating her disease! There are a number of hurdles that make it challenging for Ava to get access to this drug right now, but the doctors' hope is that Ava would reach remission without it and be able to move onto transplant, making Venetoclax unnecessary. Yet should the need for Venetoclax arise, we pray that the Lord would make a way, according to His wisdom. Ultimately, our hope lies in Him alone; keep our eyes fixed on You, Lord, and show us what it means to walk by faith.

Thank you for being an amazing community to the Lee family! They feel incredibly blessed. As you pray for Ava, please lift up a prayer for other families battling pediatric cancer who may be walking the road alone without such a community; may the Lord bless them with people who can journey alongside them, even in a pass-the-baton kind of relay-style support. May the Lord bless you for your sacrificial love.