Omaha family, ‘Ava’s Army’ raising thousands for local cancer research

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) - When you see 11-year-old Ava Reinert, you would never guess that just a few years ago, she was fighting for her life.

“She was 4 years old when she was diagnosed, she was diagnosed with leukemia,” says Amanda Reinert, Ava’s mom. “It actually took us about 12 weeks just to get a diagnosis for her. It was very long, we ended up just getting admitted to Children’s Hospital because we didn’t know what was wrong with her and she just kept getting more and more sick.”

Once Ava was admitted, she didn’t leave for months. She went through 800 days of aggressive chemotherapy.

“It was really scary because I lost my hair, I couldn’t go outside or do anything active because I could get sick,” Ava says. “It was hard because, like, I couldn’t see my friends, I had to stay in most of the time at home.”

Amanda says deciding to do the chemo, and then watching her baby go through it was excruciating.

“They’re telling you you’re literally potentially poisoning her and killing her, hoping you’re going to save her. It feels like an impossible decision. I actually asked what are our other options and they told us she’ll die.”

“They told us if she cried we weren’t allowed to wipe her tears because they were poisonous, all her clothes had to be washed in special bags because anything that touched her body was poisonous, and that was really hard to accept that we were doing that to her,” she adds.

While Ava is in remission and healthy now, Amanda says she knows it likely isn’t over.

The aggressive chemo can lead to a host of other problems.

“Heart failure, liver failure, severe memory loss issues, infertility,” Amanda listed just a few.

“Now we just don’t know what damage we did. That’s actually the real reason behind Ava’s Army because 75% of kids like her will have life-long chronic health conditions.”

Ava’s Army; the slogan began during Ava’s treatments when the gym the Reinerts belonged to surprised them with t-shirts. Now, it’s developed into a non-profit raising money for cancer research.

“All of the meds she received on treatment is meant for adults, not for kids, and the treatment plan she was on has been around for 25 years, there’s been no advances made. So we’re trying to raise money to find a better way to save kids like her.”

They’ve already raised more than $300,000, and hope to get close to $400,000 this weekend.

“It’s like the most funniest night in the world. It’s like Disney World but in one night,” Ava says about their upcoming fundraiser, the Sugarplum Ball.

“You get dressed up in fancy dresses, there’s princess, Santa, you eat delicious food, there’s silent auctions, there’s tree silent auctions, and it’s a lot of fun because there’s also dance parties, photo booths, games,” Ava adds.

The event is already sold out; more than 650 people are going.

That number includes other kids going through what Ava already experienced.

“For one night they’re not cancer kids, they’re just kids. For one night, their parents aren’t cancer parents, they’re just parents watching their kids have fun,” Amanda says.

Every penny raised goes towards helping them. Funds are donated to Omaha’s Children’s Hospital.

“We’re just trying to find research studies that we can contribute to that are going to make an impact. Finding options to cure cancer that don’t involve chemotherapy, they’re out there and we’re funding them.”

“Honestly I just feel like she deserved better, and these kids deserve so much better than what they’re getting,” Amanda adds.

Amanda and Ava say you don’t need to be at the Sugarplum Ball to be involved, silent auction items will be posted online and you can bid from the comfort of your own home.

You can do that and donate to Ava’s Army on their website here.

They post frequent events and updates on their Facebook page, too.

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