Father, daughter to dance for American Cancer Society
Steve Kazakewicz kisses his daughter, Avery, during a dance rehearsal at the Pulaski Club.
Steve Kazakewicz dances with his 8-year-old daughter, Avery, during a rehearsal at the Pulaski Club in Washington in preparation for the American Cancer Society’s dinner dance. Avery is a cancer survivor, who underwent several chemotherapy treatments before and after receiving a liver transplant.
Avery Kazakewicz and her dad, Steve, share a quiet moment during a dance rehearsal for the American Cancer Society’s dinner dance event.
Steve Kazakewicz dances with his daughter, Avery.
Avery Kazakewicz sits on the lap of her mother, Nicole, before a dance rehearsal with her father, while her brother, Jake, plays a game.
Visits with service dogs and music therapy helped Avery Kazakewicz get through her hospital stays.
Avery Kazakewicz on her last day of chemotherapy
Avery Kazakewicz has lived up to the saying on her T-shirt, “Be Brave,” throughout her cancer journey.
When Avery Kazakewicz was diagnosed with cancer in 2015, two days before her seventh birthday, her father, Steve, recalls one of the first thoughts that raced through his mind: “Am I ever going to have a chance to dance with her at her wedding and walk her down the aisle?”
Following nine rounds of chemotherapy and a liver transplant, Avery, now 8, shows no signs of cancer.
To celebrate her recovery and to raise money for cancer research, Kazakewicz and his daughter will dance at the American Cancer Society’s 21st annual Washington County Dinner Dance in memory of Craig Gnagey Sr. at Hilton Garden Inn, Southpointe, on Feb. 11.
The pair will dance to Christina Perri’s “A Thousand Years.”
“My biggest job will be trying not to cry,” said Kazakewicz, a certified public accountant and part owner of Kazakewicz and Dickson in Washington. “To me, this dance is fitting because when you’re a dad whose little girl has cancer, you wonder if you’ll get to share that moment with her at her wedding.”
Avery’s ordeal began in June 2015 when she visited a pediatrician for a routine check-up.
For a few weeks prior, Avery hadn’t eaten much and occasionally vomited, but her parents assumed it was a stomach virus or some other minor ailment.
During the exam, the doctor detected Avery’s stomach was hard and distended. It could be a number of things, including celiac disease or a blockage, the doctor said, and she suggested that Avery’s mother, Nicole, take her daughter to the hospital for X-rays.
The family drove to Children’s Hospital, Pittsburgh, and were devastated when an emergency room physician walked into the room hours later, X-rays in hand, and told them the news: Avery had stage 4 liver cancer that had spread to her lungs.
“They said her liver was riddled with cancer and they didn’t even know how it was functioning,” recalled Kazakewicz. “At that point, I went down on one knee. We weren’t expecting that. Basically, she had gone for a routine doctor’s appointment at 5:30 in the afternoon and she didn’t return home for weeks.”
Avery underwent six rounds of chemotherapy in order to kill the cancer in her lungs so that she could be put on the organ transplant list.
Then, she waited for a liver to become available. Twice, they were on standby, but both fell through.
Kazakewicz said he was dejected after the first false alarm, but Avery comforted him.
“The other little girl needed it way more than I do,” she told him. “I’ll get one.”
On Dec. 8, 2015, Avery received a liver during a 15-hour operation. Later, she underwent additional rounds of chemotherapy.
The recovery from the transplant and the chemotherapy were grueling.
She was nauseous and had no appetite, so doctors inserted a nose tube to provide nutrients. Her blond hair fell out. She was weak and exhausted. But the Kazakewiczs believed the oncologists, transplant doctors and nurses were providing Avery with the best possible care.
Avery kept busy in the hospital, with visits from the Pittsburgh Penguins, service dogs, family and friends, and activities including music therapy.
“The service dogs and music helped her get through this,” said Kazakewicz. “When she was sick in the hospital, the two things that picked her up were visits from therapy dogs and ‘The Voice,’ which she watched in bed with her mom.”
In May 2016, when she was well enough, the Make-A-Wish Foundation flew Avery, her parents and her 11-year-old brother to Hollywood to attend the taping of “The Voice” and to meet the judges, Blake Shelton, Pharrell, Adam Levine and Christina Aguilera. Avery presented them with Sarris chocolate-covered pretzels.
Kazakewicz said the family is overwhelmed at the outpouring of support they received from family, friends, members of St. Benedict the Abbot Church in McMurray and the community during Avery’s chemotherapy, transplant and recovery.
Friends organized spaghetti dinner and pancake breakfast fundraisers and sold T-shirts emblazoned with “brAVERY,” and coordinated a meal train. Students at Canon-McMillan High School sold green bracelets to raise money, while other Canon-Mac schools raised money and sent cards. One day, Canon-Mac cheerleaders showed up in front of the Kazakewiczs’ Canonsburg home to cheer for Avery.
Avery’s second-grade teacher, Kelsey Ross, tutored her after school and over the summer whenever Avery felt up to working on school assignments.
At one point, Ross let Avery cut her hair and donated it to Pantene Beautiful Lengths.
The support and prayers from friends and strangers is what prompted Kazakewicz and Avery to agree to participate in the dinner dance when Ross, who serves on the committee, asked.
“We can never repay everyone for everything they did for us,” Kazakewicz said. “And we love Mrs. Ross, who was there every step of the way for Avery. I’m not the biggest fan of getting in front of people and dancing, but if we can do anything to help, we’ll do it. If it helps other cancer patients, or if we can do something that helps people in the community, it would be selfish of us not to help. Their support, along with prayers – many from people who didn’t even know Avery – and having a relationship with God, got us through this.”
At their second dance practice at the Pulaski Club, Kazakewicz cajoled a tired and cranky Avery to dance with him.
Kazakewicz scooped Avery up in his arms and hugged her while she wrapped her arms around him and rested her head on his shoulder as he danced across the floor.
That’s OK. It was just practice. They’ll dance together at the dinner dance.
And at Avery’s wedding.
To purchase tickets to the event, visit community.acsevents.org. Tickets cost $80 and include dinner, dancing and an auction.