Seven-year-old Avery Harriman, son of Nebraska Huskers assistant coach Chris Harriman, received some good news after nearly a month of intense chemotherapy.
Avery, who was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia at age 2, was in the middle of his third battle with cancer when doctors told him he could finally go home. His father shared the good news on Facebook, where thousands of people offered their support.
Post by Avery’s Army.
Acute lymphoblastic leukemia attacks the immune system by overproducing cancerous white blood cells, which form in a patient’s bone marrow, and inhibit healthy cells from growing. It is one of the most common childhood cancers.
Avery and his family kept in good spirits during his latest stay in the hospital. Even throughout chemo, he maintained his energy playing games with his family and hospital staff.
Full day…met Ms Nebraska, shot the nurses w/ Nerf gun & silly string all whilst trying beat cancer! #AveryStrong pic.twitter.com/jeRU0Y38GQ
— Chris Harriman (@chrisharriman24) August 15, 2014
Avery will only be home until his bone marrow biopsy next week, CBS Sports reports. After he relapsed in October 2012, Avery received a transplant from a generous donor in California, Andrew Cussen.
Post by Andrew Cussen.
If the prognosis from the biopsy is a good one, Avery will not have to undergo another transplant or more chemotherapy. Cussen has offered to donate marrow for Avery again if he requires another transplant. However, a second procedure is likely to be even riskier than the first.
T-shirts bearing the hashtag #AveryStrong, which were created in a partnership with Adidas, raise awareness for pediatric cancer.
Special thanks to @adidas & @tapnorris for the #AveryStrong T-shirts that arrived today. Appreciate your support. pic.twitter.com/T4K9I2n0LK
— Chris Harriman (@chrisharriman24) August 13, 2014
Avery is continuing treatment at home until a prognosis is confirmed. While most of his time will be spent tending to his illness, he is still happy to be back with his family.
The Harriman family remains hopeful but careful.
“It’s good to be home for a few days. But we’re still scared to death because we might get to a point where they tell us they’re running out of options … All you want is for your son to have a normal life,” Chris Harriman, Avery’s dad, told CBS Sports.
Post by Avery’s Army.
The Harriman family is keeping Avery’s supporters updated on his condition on Twitter and the Avery’s Army Facebook page.
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