Princess Ava

By: Cristy Ecton

Pre-schooler Ava loves role play. Her mom Amber said playing ‘kitchen’ is her favorite. As the pandemic cast a dark shadow over the world this spring, Ava’s play time waned. Amber said, “We weren’t thinking of the pandemic because Ava’s pain started about the same time. Her legs were hurting. She had pain in other areas of her body. She got a random black eye and fevers. She was not her typical vivacious self.”  

When Amber took Ava to the doctor’s office, Ava was given a nasal swab test thinking it might be COVID-19. It was not. As spring turned to summer, Ava was diagnosed with acute myeloblastic leukemia (AML) just weeks after her 5th birthday.  

Childhood AML typically requires extended and frequent hospitalizations because of the type of chemotherapy and how the body responds. In anticipation of all the blood draws, intravenous (IV) medications, anesthesia, and more, Ava had a procedure to insert a PICC line. A PICC line is a thin, soft, long tube (catheter) that was inserted into a vein in her arm. The tip of the catheter is positioned in a large vein that carries blood into the heart.  

This is when Ava met Chloe. Amber said Ava thinks of Chloe as her friend who plays with her. Chloe is a certified child life specialist. Play is her work. Chloe introduced Ava to Dolly, a realistic medical doll that needed her PICC line dressing changed, like Ava. As Ava role played wearing her own ‘Dr. Ava’ name badge, Chloe taught coping behaviors and addressed misconceptions to help with the discomfort of procedures.

Chloe said, “Medical play is a way for child life specialists to model the procedural steps and allow the child to gain control throughout the experience.” When this form of play was incorporated into Ava’s care, Chloe was able to build a rapport with Ava and her family, while teaching Ava about leukemia and normalizing the clinic setting.  

Ava misses seeing other kids who are like her – being treated for cancer – that playroom usually provides. The playroom has been closed for months as a precaution during the pandemic. Instead, Ava uses FaceTime to visit with her siblings and cousins. During her hospitalizations, Ava looks forward to when members of the Child Life team play with her or bring by the activity cart. Child Life provides the cart full of games, books, stickers, and more to help patients cope with the isolation as the playroom remains closed. “She's been hospitalized so much that she has accumulated at least one of everything on the cart,” said Amber.  

With the consistent and generous donations of Children’s Cancer Fund, Child Life keeps the activity cart stocked with a variety of items for all ages and provides medical play kits that families continue to use at home, learning together.