Please help 14 year old Ayva beat Metastatic Bone Cancer

This beautiful 14 year old is Ayva. She's an amazing kid with spunk, kindness, love, and humor who's world changed in the blink of an eye.

In March 2024 Ayva turned 14 and was looking forward to starting her high school years come September. Freshman year is when your grades start counting, and Ayva couldn't wait to start her new school. She also got her first job at our favorite local Chinese Restaurant!

Ayva had been having leg pain on and off and it bothered her the most at night. It affected her sleep which made her a grumpy mess in the mornings. She had been going to the gym and using the leg press, so we chalked it up to using her muscles more than usual.

Fast forward a few weeks and her pain was getting worse. Mom took her to the pediatrician who felt her leg and noticed that it wasn't her muscles that were the problem. Her pain seemed to be bone-related. Her shin was very sensitive and caused pain. The pediatrician referred her to an Orthopedic doctor.

After a week or so we get in to see the Ortho and by his findings and the fluid found surrounding her knee from the x-ray that was taken, he thought it could be a torn meniscus. To make certain, he ordered

an MRI.

Fast forward to the end of May, Daddy took Ayva to get her MRI on a Wednesday morning before school started and they said by the time the doctor's office opens at 9am we will get the results. Mom was driving to Temple University Hospital for her own appointment when the ortho called and said "I don't know how to tell you this. Ayva has a tumor the size of an apple on her tibia." Not thinking that far into it, mom asked if there should be a biopsy soon, and should she take her to Fox Chase? The doctor had already scheduled her at CHOP (Children's Hospital of Philadelphia) for Friday.

After a biopsy was completed, it was confirmed that Ayva had a very rare, very aggressive Cancer called Osteosarcoma. Because of the size of the tumor (most are the size of a walnut or golf ball) they had determined that her Cancer was at a Stage 4, and that it most likely metastasized (spread to another part of the body). Sure enough, after a CT scan, they found her right lung riddled with Cancer.

This diagnosis completely turned our world upside down.

As you can imagine, the cost of having a child with a terminal disease is immense. Steve works for Alliance Medical Transport and he drives an ambulance Tuesday thru Friday between 10-12 hours a day (our steady paycheck) and Lori owns her own business, Lori Dudley Wellness, LLC, and will be limiting her hours and taking the time off needed to take Ayva to her appointments and to spend time with her at the hospital. This is going to hurt financially and will need support from those who can offer it.

Ayva goes into CHOP every Monday between 9-11am to get her blood work before she can get her chemo. She is admitted every Monday and stays until Friday, she gets to come home for the weekend and then back at it again Monday morning. Her first chemo was June 7th, and will have 5 rounds at 5 weeks each. Sometime in November Ayva will have a third set of scans to see how the Cancer is reacting to the chemo.

For all those who can help, we are truly grateful to you. For those of you who cannot, if you could please share this and say a prayer. We appreciate you helping our family deal with this awful nightmare.