The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Joy for little Ava after transplant tests scare
Fife tot on the road to recovery after doctors give her the all-clear
Brave Fife youngster Ava Stark has been given a clean bill of health following a transplant failure scare.
The five-year-old’s family faced an anxious wait for test results after doctors noticed her “donor levels” – the proportion of healthy new cells in her system – had begun to drop.
The Lochgelly tot had a life-saving stem cell transplant in November 2016 after being diagnosed with inherited bone marrow failure.
Ava went from strength to strength during her recovery and even enjoyed the holiday of a lifetime to Disneyland Paris.
Mum Marie, 35, previously told how doctors were becoming concerned that the donor levels in her marrow were dropping, which could be sign of lateengraftment.
But a meeting at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow on Friday brought good news as the levels had gone back up on their own.
Marie said: “When they first told us Ava’s levels had dropped, I was in shock because things were going good.
“We’ve been very lucky and there haven’t been many bumps in the road during her recovery.
“We all began preparing for the worst, we started to make plans and I told my work I would be taking time off.
“But what actually happened at the hospital was the total opposite, I couldn’t believe it. They said her levels had gone back up and she wouldn’t need a second transplant.
“When we got around the corner in the hospital, I grabbed Ava and shouted ‘You’re OK’ before giving her a massive cuddle. All she said was ‘watch my hair’.”
Marie issued a heartfelt thanks to the team of doctors who will continue to monitor Ava’s progress.
She said: “I honestly want to thank them from the bottom of my heart. I can’t say thank you enough.
“The future for us is to do things that we’ve never done because tomorrow isn’t promised for anyone.
“Ava wanted to catch a fish so we are going fishing. Her brother Adam wanted to stay in a tent, so we got a tent and we are going camping.
“Every weekend we have something planned between now and the end of August when she will tackle her first day at primary school.”
To register as a potential donor, visit anthonynolan.org or dkms.org.uk/en
I couldn’t believe it. They said her levels had gone back up and she wouldn’t need a second transplant.
MUM MARIE