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Avery Handrow’s presence fills her family’s home in Grafton. Her mother Liz has dozens of pictures.
“That’s one of our favorites,” she says, looking at a portrait in the entryway. “Just the detail and the liveliness of it. Just that he was able to capture her, and it just feels like she’s here with us.”
At just 16 months old, Avery was diagnosed with cancer.
“Avery was diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma, which, sarcomas in children are rare,” Liz says.
It’s a tumor in the soft tissues of the body – in Avery’s case, one of her facial muscles. But her team of doctors at the MACC Fund Center jumped into action right away.
“What’s great about Avery’s team was just their commitment,” Liz says. “Just immediately, with the first visit, they just made their presence known.”
Even when Liz took Avery to Illinois for specialized treatment, MACC staff never left her side.
“What really got me through that was knowing that I could call Avery’s nurse practitioner, or her doctor would check in every once in a while,” she recalls.
And when those treatments weren’t working anymore, the MACC Fund team supported the Handrow family through the palliative care process.
“They presented us with so many different options as we were nearing that time, and they were supportive of whatever option we did,” Liz says.
Even though Avery is gone, Liz is still trying to honor her memory. She works hard to raise awareness of childhood cancers and everything MACC does to cure them.
“Because as hard as it is every day knowing that your daughter is not here, knowing that maybe – not in my lifetime but her sister’s lifetime – that something will be different,” Liz says. “It’s our future, you know? It’s the kids.”
Every dollar MACC raises goes directly to research and treatments. You can contribute to MACC’s goal of curing all childhood cancer by bidding in our Sports Auction 4 MACC, going on all week. There are great items up for grabs, including a Tony Romo-signed helmet or a TMJ4 weather forecast in your own front yard! Pick up a great holiday gift and support the work MACC does fighting childhood cancer and related blood disorders.
