Our mission is to honor the legacy of Avery Marie Lafferty, an exceptionally brave cancer rebel, and patients like her. We strive to advance pediatric brain and other cancer research through funding, provide support and assistance to families battling pediatric cancer, and promote activities to raise awareness.
Help support our mission.
To donate by check, please mail to:
Avery’s Little Army Inc.
P.O. Box 3087
Milford, CT 06460
The story of…Avery Marie Lafferty
June 11th, 2012 - July 12th, 2024 (age 12)
Diagnosed: December 19th, 2021
A “Life Changing” Discovery
In late December 2021, after a long day of skiing, Avery and I were relaxing in the Mount Snow ski club. As she was sipping a hot chocolate, I vividly recall her saying to me, “Mom, that was one of the best ski days ever,” with a lazier than usual smile. I remember being relieved she had not experienced any headaches that day, as they had been persistent, on and off, for weeks.
Little did I realize what was to come over the next several hours. Once we made our way back to the condo, Avery’s headache came on with a vengeance. My husband, Paul, and I tried everything to relieve her pain. By 2am it became clear it was not going away. We drove through a horrific snowstorm hoping to get to Yale New Haven hospital, but her pain and the weather were so extreme we only made it to the one- room Emergency Department in Brattleboro Memorial in Vermont; with her sister and dog in tow.
“I am so sorry, it is a ‘mass’ in a really tough spot, I am so, so, incredibly sorry.” Those were the words of the doctor in the ED in Brattleboro following her CT scan.
