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Johns Creek girl, 8, inspires family's generosity
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| | | The Bernardino girls from left: Allison, 10; Annalise, 11 and Ava, 8. (click for larger version) | |
October 21, 2009
Johns Creek - The Bernardino family of Johns Creek has turned a lengthy medical journey into one that is full of strength, optimism and generosity - all inspired by one of their own.
Ava Bernardino, 8, was born with complex heart defects. At 12 days-old, Ava had emergency surgery to insert a Blalock-Taussig shunt at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta to get blood flow to the lungs. After numerous surgeries, she was diagnosed with pulmonary vein stenosis, a condition in which few children survive past their first birthday. At nine months-old, Ava underwent a heart, double-lung bypass to buy time before she would need heart and lung transplants. What happened next was a miracle, said her mother, Melissa.
"For some reason, the veins remained open and the surgery was successful," she said.
The Bernardino family has remained cautiously optimistic, said Melissa, because Ava's condition is very rare and she's the only Children's Hospital of Atlanta patient to survive such a condition. Because of the care received at the hospital, the Bernardino family decided to initiate a family affair of giving back to Children's and donating for research.
"We felt research was needed and we wanted to spread Ava's story and awareness," said Melissa. So the family began supporting research at the Michael P. Fischer Sibley Heart Center at Children's. The Bernardinos organized a petting zoo fundraiser at a local preschool and all of the money was donated to Children's.
"We've done all sorts of things to benefit the hospital - going door to door selling art work, collecting stuffed animals for the hospital and we have a treasure box full of trinkets," said Melissa. "When that gets full we take it to the hospital."
Ava, with her two sisters Allison and Annalise, and their parents have made generosity a central part of what goes on in the family.
"I want my children to see that there are brighter days ahead and how incredibly blessed we are as a family," said Melissa. "Without Children's we would not have Ava...so it's important to raise awareness for families who are struggling."
Currently, Ava is involved in audiology therapy for hearing-related issues, takes less than half of the medication she used to and has appointments with her cardiologist every other month. Soon, she will undergo a cardiac magnetic resonance imaging scan to view her heart.
"This is all pretty good news," said Melissa. "We choose to look at the glass as half full and try to focus on the positives."
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Tags: Johns Creek
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