If you look at it from a “glass-half-full” perspective, I’m very lucky. Some people go a lifetime without coming close to meeting their hero; but me, I gave birth to mine. On May 22, 2018, our beautiful, playful daughter Averie was diagnosed with Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) at just two-and-a-half years old. Just like that, our family was quickly thrust into a world we knew nothing about; one week we were taking our toddler to ballet lessons and watching her twirl, and the next we were taking her back for surgery to receive a port-a-cath and watching her receive her first chemotherapy treatment. It happened that fast. After an initial 28 days of grueling chemo and steroids, the hope was that Averie would have achieved molecular remission, but unfortunately her bone marrow aspiration revealed more Leukemia cells still looming than doctors had anticipated. As a result, Averie was put into a “very high risk for relapse" category, which means that because her cells are more chemo-resistant than most, her 2+ year treatment plan is now even more aggressive to give her the best chance of a positive outcome. At this point, there are still a lot of things we don’t know about what the future may hold for our sweet little girl. But for now, we choose to focus on what we do know. We know that Averie is strong beyond what we ever knew possible—and she continues to prove that every single day. We know that giving up is not—and will never be—an option for our family. And without a doubt, we know that we are beyond blessed to be surrounded by the most incredible support system, and that we will forever be thankful for every single ounce of love being sent our way during this journey. Thank you once again for supporting Averie and the more than 300,000 kids worldwide who will be diagnosed with cancer this year. By sharing the gifts of your time, talent and money with the St. Baldrick’s Foundation, you're supporting research to give Averie--and all kids with cancer--a better chance for a cure. #AverieStrong