PEORIA, Ill.— A summer of joy and renewal has taken a sad and stressful turn for the 2023 Miss Heart of Illinois Fair Queen, 15-year-old Ava Leitze, and her family. Following her crowning as HOI Fair Queen in July, Ava was diagnosed with a recurrence of the rare and aggressive form of cancer called Acute Myeloid Leukemia. She is currently going through chemotherapy with the goal of receiving a bone marrow transplant, which is tentatively scheduled for this fall. 

According to a Facebook support page for the teen, AvaStrong (search AvaStrong Peoria), a search is underway to find a matching bone marrow donation. Help is being sought from the general public in finding such a donor. 

Following the news of Ava’s relapse, Heart of Illinois Fair Director Roxy Baker issued the following social media plea:

“(Ava) beat this disease once with a bone marrow transfer from her little sister. There were millions of people in the database and no one was a match except her sister. But this time they are worried about using a familial match because of the relapse. If you’re under 40 please try and sign up to be a match!

“It was fast and easy and they’re going to send the swab kit to me. If you can’t sign up to be a match please send prayers as she has started chemo again and SHARE her story you never know who might see this and be a match.” 

People can join a national bone marrow donor registry by texting AvaStrong to 61474. Those responding will receive a free bone marrow swabbing test kit to help determine a proper match for Ava or another person in need. 

The Leitz family has also established a website to help people learn more about Ava and to acquire a marrow testing kit, www.Ava-Strong.com. Testing kits usually arrive in 3 to 5 days.