Family overcoming cancer helps others in similar situations
TOM STROMME/Tribune Ava, left, and Ella Jacobs demonstrate the art of making a snow angel in the snow outside their grandmother's home in Bismarck. Loading…
The last time Ava Brae Jacobs was in the spotlight in Bismarck, she was a toddler with a bald head from cancer treatments. At that point, when she was here participating in Relay for Life in 2008, the miracle was that she was still alive, recovering from the tumor that doctors thought would take her life.
Now, Ava’s miracle is being a normal 4½-year-old girl, with curls in her long brown hair and freckles on her happy, mischievous face. Doctors in Houston, where she and her family live, have said she has as few problems for a little girl who went through intense chemotherapy and radiation at such a young and vulnerable age can have.
Now, Ava’s miracle is being a normal 4½-year-old girl, with curls in her long brown hair and freckles on her happy, mischievous face. Doctors in Houston, where she and her family live, have said she has as few problems for a little girl who went through intense chemotherapy and radiation at such a young and vulnerable age can have.
It will be 2½ more years until doctors can pronounce the bubbly brunette’s cancer in remission. But for now, the Jacobs family is happy that Ava has only minor developmental problems remaining from the cancer treatments.
The family has spent Christmas in Bismarck, where Ava’s dad, Jeremy, and mom, Amy, grew up. While they’re here, they hope to raise some money for another family struggling with a little girl with the same diagnosis as Ava.
Their organization, Bravehearts for Kids, will hold a snow angel party on Sunday afternoon to serve as a fundraiser for 6-year-old Mia Thinnes and her family.
Their organization, Bravehearts for Kids, will hold a snow angel party on Sunday afternoon to serve as a fundraiser for 6-year-old Mia Thinnes and her family.
Ava was about a year old when her parents learned she had a brain tumor. Since they live in Houston, they had easy access to several large cancer centers. Even so, Ava’s case was rare. The type of cancer she had typically affects 5- to 9-year-old boys, Jeremy Jacobs said. The doctors conferred with other specialists around the world and charted a course of treatment for such a young child.
The treatment was aggressive. Ava was put under general anesthesia approximately 70 times, many of which were to keep the toddler still during radiation.
“You only get one shot at it,” Amy Jacobs explained about the treatments.
With a few bumps along the road, Ava made it out of treatment. The Jacobs consider themselves lucky that they had access to world renowned medical professionals in Houston.
“We drove down the road 20 minutes to the world’s greatest cancer hospital,” Jeremy Jacobs said.
But they know not everyone is as lucky — during Ava’s hospital stays, they knew of other children dying from their cancers at the rate of about one every other day.
As Ava has recovered, they also have watched other families struggling financially. Often one parent has to quit working to care for the child while medical bills stack up. The Jacobs formed Bravehearts for Kids as a grass-roots not-for-profit organization that has set out to give 100 percent of money raised to families in need. They hope to provide enough for plane tickets to get to treatment or to help with bills. They also have offered their home to families who need to take their children to Houston for treatment.
The Jacobs also hope Ava can be a sign of hope for others. Doctors thought she might end up in a vegetative state or with problems that would keep her from growing normally. However, neuropsychologists have pronounced her healthy and, other than some problems with balance and seizures, at normal developmental levels for her age. As she plays around her grandmother’s house with little sister, Adley, and big sister, Ella, Ava is proof that there is life after a pediatric cancer diagnosis.
On Sunday around 1 p.m., Bravehearts for Kids will host a snow angel party at the North Dakota Capitol mall. They are asking anyone who is interested to give a $1 or more donation and make a snow angel with them.
“Whatever drops in the hat, we’re going to donate to a family in need,” Jeremy Jacobs said.
For more information on Bravehearts for Kids, visit http://www.braveheartsforkids.org/.
(Reach reporter Jenny Michael at 250-8225 or jenny.michael@bismarcktribune.com.)
Ava is one brave little girl-she is my sister's (Melanie Bitz Paape) neice-we have followed her since her diagnosis and so happy she is doing well!
Ava is one brave little girl-she is my sister's (Melanie Bitz Paape) neice-we have followed her since her diagnosis and so happy she is doing well!
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