Ava's herstory of Beatrice.

In three different 4-5 day periods in the past 3 months, Ava has had pain in her lower abdomen.  We assumed it was a UTI or something similar and took her to her pediatrician to try to figure out the origin of her pain and discomfort.  We were all puzzled by these episodes, but the pain always went away.

Right before our summer vacation in mid-June, the mystifying malady struck again - our pediatrician did labwork and also ordered an ultrasound for after we returned from the beach.

On Tuesday, June 25th, we went for the scheduled ultrasound, with the expectation that we would discover nothing significant and be home in a couple of hours.  However, the ultrasound revealed a mass and the whirlwind began.  A CT scan was ordered for the same day - it revealed additional problem areas, including in the lymph nodes.  Holly and I were confused, overwhelmed, and and terrified by this new information and took Ava for her favorite dinner at Panera Bread.  While there, our pediatrician called us and informed us that we should assemble our support team and be prepared for a rough road ahead.  We learned that we would probably be sent to St. Jude in Memphis the next day.  I'll never forget that phone call.

*Beatrice = the mass (now known to be a tumor)