Ava’s Army began as a dream to make a difference in other children’s future. When thirteen-year-old Ava Reinert was diagnosed with B-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia at age four, she underwent 800 days of chemotherapy and treatment, finishing in June 2019. Although she’s cancer-free, she continues to deal with neuropathy and severe dental issues due to the long-term effects of chemotherapy. She’s also at a higher risk of developing other cancers in the future due to the outdated treatment she received. There have been no advances in standard Pediatric Leukemia protocols for 25 years, but Ava’s Army hopes to change that.
Edge: What was the inspiration to start Ava’s Army?
Ava: Chemotherapy was very rough on my body, and as a family, we wanted to find a better way, so other kids don’t have to go through the same things that I had to go through. My dream is that we find a better cure for cancer—that is my big goal—and also to raise a million dollars in total for fundraising.
Edge: What do you like to do outside of volunteering for Ava’s Army?
Ava: I do All-Star Cheer and I compete in pageants. This will be my third year doing International Young Miss. It’s in Orlando, Florida this summer, and I’m really excited.
Edge: Tell me about the Ava’s Army fundraising events.
Ava: I really love the Sugar Plum Ball. There’s a lot of dancing. It’s a very kid friendly place for all the survivors and warriors. They get to just be a kid and have fun for one night, and they don’t have to worry about the needles or the medicine or the pokes they get. I also love the Color Run, because you get absolutely dumped with color. My family loves to dump buckets of it on me, and it takes forever to get out.
Edge: How big do you imagine Ava’s Army will grow?
Amanda (Ava’s mom): When we started Ava’s Army, the idea was to have the Sugar Plum ball and raise maybe $2000 to donate to research. And then it just exploded. So the fact that we even have a paid staff blows my mind. We’ve raised over $700,000 now. It’s just that is so beyond my wildest imagination.
Edge: What was it like to meet with the researchers Ava’s Army funded in person?
Amanda: It was life-changing to speak with researchers and hear what they have accomplished. I cried a lot. The solution is there, but they need funding for FDA clinical trials to be FDA approved so that this can become mainstream treatment. They rely on private organizations like ours because there’s so little federal funding. What we’re doing and the money we’re raising, it’s going to make a huge difference in the next five to ten years. We are so close!
Edge: Ava, what are your hopes and dreams for the future?
Ava: I want to be an occupational therapist when I grow up. I want to go to the University of Iowa and be a Hawkeye cheerleader.
Amanda: When Ava was in the hospital, the only time she’d smile was when the OT came in. She was working, but she didn’t know she was working.
Ava: Yeah, she’d even let me throw putty at her face!
