Thursday September 24,2020

Hello everyone,

It’s been a while since we did an update. I’m sure majority of you heard we had a set back with Ava and she got sick. We were flown to the Stollery from Grande Prairie Early Tuesday morning. Basically starting Sunday she got a stomach virus, which led to a partial bowel obstruction. She was flown to Edmonton to be closely monitored by her surgeon and Pediatrician there who know her best. Thank gosh she was able to overcome the obstruction quickly and didn’t require surgery 🙏🏼. This was such a blessing and a big break for us. This definitely scared Landon and I, as we have had such a good streak with Ava. We’re so happy she’s doing well and happy. Ava got pretty traumatized from in hospital and you can tell she remembers all the scary things and procedures that happens. It’s going to take her a bit to make her feel safe and remove those scary ideas. We are finally discharged from the Stollery and on our way back home. We are all pretty exhausted. We want to thank each and everyone for reaching out to us with thoughts and prayers for Ava- means so much to us❤️.

Over the summer we had some follow up appts, we seen her surgeon in Edmonton and Ava has a small hernia on her abdomen that we will have to monitor overtime. It will eventually need to get corrected but for now it’s not bothering her, so we will leave it. She had her audiology appt at the Stollery in August and she had some abnormal readings on her left ear that we will need to get reassessed again (some fluid build up that doesn’t drain easily). Other wise it was a good appt overall. Her growth and development has been coming along well. It’s amazing how she can say some more words and is trying so hard to talk more.

She has started the PUF program at Pre-K (Program Unit Funding) where speech and an aid works with her right in school. She absolutely loves her school to socialize with all the kids. She has started daycare again in September and enjoys that also. It’s finally some normalization for her.

Basically Ava is prone to bowel obstructions in the future, from all the adhesions from the several bowel surgeries she has had. When she gets a gastroenteritis virus, it can develop more serious than another child her age without a complex medical history. We as parents have to find the balance to be cautious with Ava and let her continue with school and play with other kids for her social and development which is so important for her. We will take each day by day. So thankful this scare was resolved quickly and she was so resilient. It blew my mind Ava’s strength and bravery and how quickly she recovered.

Thank you again for all the love and support. ❤️ Ava’s army.