When the Joy A Child Brings Always Outweighs The Struggles Introducing You To Ava West-Mullen BY ANDREA HURR • PHOTOS BY JULIAN CURET
K
eeping God at the center of their lives, Lisa West is a force to be reckoned with when it comes to her special needs daughter Ava West-Mullen. While pregnant with Ava and her identical twin sister Abigail, Lisa and her husband Jon felt pressured to do a selective reduction with doctors suggesting that they should focus on “the healthy twin” as Ava appeared not compatible with life. They obviously did not choose to go that route and Lisa says that they “have always been adamant that though the doctors may have one plan for Ava’s life, we know that the plan God has for her life has been so much greater from the very moment He placed her and her twin sister in the womb!!!” “Keeping God at the center of our lives and continuing to remind ourselves that he is the author of Ava’s story has been the best way to keep the faith and stay positive throughout all of Ava’s struggles.” And struggles they have had. Born at 34 weeks, due to full placenta abruption, with profound microcephaly with a simplified gyral
48
December 2023
“their sister’s keeper
pattern (her head and brain are extremely small and her brain does not have the wrinkles in it like a typical brain) and optic nerve hypoplasia (extremely small optic nerves in her eyes) they discovered years later through genetic testing that Ava has an extremely rare disorder of the MCPH1 gene which is the root cause of her medical complexities. On top of all that, shortly after birth, she was diagnosed with a heart condition called
VSD which has thankfully completely resolved itself and then at age 2, she was diagnosed with spastic diplegia cerebral palsy. Her SDCP affects her gait, motor planning skills, and physical stamina. Ava and Abigail are now 7, in first grade, and thriving in their own ways. The twins have 5 more siblings and a niece and nephew. Lisa says to watch Ava interact with her 6 siblings and nephew and niece “is truly to witness magic in the making. The amount of growth, patience, and love that our older children have gained since Ava’s birth has been incredible to see. They truly all are “their sister’s keeper”.” Ava also has an incredible bond with her twin which Lisa describes as “supernatural” and “unexplainably special”. The girls are inseparable and best friends. “What one lacks, the other one doesn’t miss a beat in picking up on,” says Lisa.
