KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — Ava, an eight-year-old living with acute myeloblastic leukemia, has dreams of becoming a scientist to help make people healthy and her wish was granted with a hands-on experience at the University of Tennessee College of Pharmacy and College of Nursing.
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Throughout the day, Ava’s big personality shined through. Her mother, Shadricka Sawyer, said Ava is a great kid and a free-spirited ball of sunshine with a lot of energy. While some children who have been around health care providers as much as Ava might want to be as far away from medicine as possible, Sawyer said her daughter’s interest in science sparked around the time when she was diagnosed with leukemia, and since then that interest has been very consistent.
“It’s amazing to see a kid that’s so young to aspire to be someone that gives back, ’cause I mean, she experienced it firsthand and she knows the importance of providing medical care for children that are sick or people that have illness[es]. It’s heartwarming to have an eight-year-old tell you that they want to give back and become a scientist. That’s pretty amazing,” Sawyer said.
The day’s experiences started off with Ava and her family arriving at the UT College of Pharmacy in a bright orange limousine. After being welcomed by a crowd of students and staff, Ava was presented with her own lab coat, and worked alongside pharmacy students on a missions to compound a “medication” known as “Wizard Whipped Cream,” conduct an experiment and fill prescriptions for Batman and Bugs Bunny. Ava also practiced administering medicine to a Squishmallow patient and received some surprises along the way to help her with her journey as a scientist.
Behind the scenes, students worked for about a week to figure out what missions they would set up for Ava. College of Pharmacy Student Ethan Hathcock shared that the team brainstormed, focusing on what an eight-year-old would want to do…