Ava was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin's T-Cell Lymphoblastic Lymphoma in February of 2022. Ava had been noticing breathing problems when running and even singing and started sleeping slightly elevated. One afternoon she went to the track with her mom, but Ava couldn't even run around the track once. Ava's mom knew something was wrong has Ava had qualified for the state cross country meet the previous fall.  A visit to the nurse practitioner resulted in a suspected cardiac issue. During the 3 week wait to see cardiology, Ava woke up with an extremely puffy face like she was having an allergic reaction. Ava's mom took her to OU Children's ER.  The medical team did testing, and once the X-ray results were revealed they could see a large mass in Ava's chest. The same day Ava was admitted to the PICU to start the process of shrinking the mass, doing a biopsy, and getting an exact diagnosis.  Ava spent a week in the hospital which was the start of a 2.5 year regimen of chemotheraphy which finally completed on June 9, 2024.

Ava's favorite food is sushi. She loves reading, running, and traveling.