Facing it: Warden sophomore sees support in hard times

WARDEN — Avree Pruneda described her last few weeks as “hectic.”

A pain in her arm over the past year turned into a growth. When that growth began to become hard in December, Avree’s mother, Tara Pruneda, said she knew this wasn’t something normal. Told it might be a cyst at yet another trip to the doctor, they soon learned it was actually a mass, a tumor.

“From there, everything kind of moved pretty fast,” Tara Pruneda said.

Avree, a sophomore at Warden High School this year, was diagnosed with Ewing’s sarcoma, an extremely rare form of cancer, with fewer than 1,000 cases in the country each year. This type of cancer is typically found in children and young adults, accounting for 2 percent of all childhood cancer diagnoses.

“I think it was just such a shock at first, it took a little bit to wrap our heads around something we’ve been dealing with for so long, gone to the doctor for so many times, was a tumor,” Tara Pruneda said. “You feel guilty because you think, did I not go to the doctor enough?”

Tara Pruneda said doctors assured her that this form of cancer presents itself in so many different fashions, it’s difficult to pinpoint. Tara Pruneda said she and Avree’s father, Gabe Pruneda, are finding out just how understudied pediatric cancer is.

The weeks since Avree Pruneda received her diagnosis from her biopsy on Jan. 15 have been filled with weekly trips to Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center & Children’s Hospital in Spokane.

Since the cancer hasn’t metastasized to anywhere other than her arm, Tara Pruneda said doctors told her this was a good sign. Still, Tara Pruneda said she knows Avree has a tough road to face.

Avree said she’s learned about surgeries she’s getting that day. She’ll have her third on Wednesday, Feb. 19. The sophomore is heading into her third round of chemotherapy as she is still in the early part of her 31-week treatment.

Through all of this, a positive note remains in her tone.

“For a bad situation, it’s been a really good experience,” Avree Pruneda said. “My doctors are really nice, my nurses. They’ve just been really helpful throughout this.”

The worry of medical bills only adds onto the pile for the Pruneda family. Tara Pruneda said she’ll have better idea of that side of things later on in the process, but said there’s always a concern when that bill comes.

Right now, it’s the driving back and forth and things like this that weigh on you, Tara Pruneda said. Tara Pruneda said she has been driving up to Spokane with Avree, while Gabe Pruneda has been working and taking care of their son Ozzy Pruneda, 10, at home. Ozzy can’t come visit Avree in Spokane due to hospital restrictions, and Tara Pruneda said they want to try and keep as much of a routine for Ozzy as they can.

Throughout everything, Tara Pruneda said the support from both the community and the medical staff in Spokane has been incredible.

“The Ronald McDonald House, even just her oncologist, her social worker, the nurses, are all amazing, and they have such a tough job, too,” Tara Pruneda said. “Every one of them has been amazing, even as much as just walking us through it.”

There were books on pediatric cancer and other resources for Tara and Gabe when they arrived, to help them better understand what they were going through. Little things such as parking passes and food vouchers that you wouldn’t think would make a big difference go a long way, Tara Pruneda said.

“I think people don’t realize a lot of these people that volunteer, like tutors that come and help with homework and things like that, some of them have had cancer, some of them have had children that had cancer,” Tara Pruneda said. “When they say they know what you’re going through, a lot of them actually do know what you’re going through.”

Tara Pruneda said there’s no handbook to walking through this; nobody really knows how to handle it coming in.

One of the toughest things to do for Avree was letting the rest of her family know after she was diagnosed, having had loved ones affected by cancer before.

The wave of support from their family was immediate and tremendous, both Tara and Avree said.

“It’s helped me in so many ways,” Avree Pruneda said. “I have really rough days, they just come over randomly, or text me, or call me. They just want to make my day better, not to talk about what I have, but just talk about how my day went, and how I made it better, and how the next day’s gonna be even better.

Having such a large family that remains so close-knit, Avree Pruneda said, has really helped her get through this.

Ayzaiah Pruneda and Tyson Wall, cousins of Avree, said they just couldn’t believe this was happening to her when they first found out.

Pruneda and Wall said they started brainstorming with their Warden boys basketball teammates on ways they could show their support for Avree, and simply let her know they were thinking about her.

“If it were us in her shoes, she’d do the same for us,” Ayzaiah Pruneda said. “That’s the kind of person she is. She just wants to help you.”

A wave of ideas came in to wear yellow headbands, armbands and more at their games in support of Avree’s battle. The entire boys basketball team showed its support to Avree before the game against Kiona-Benton on Jan. 21 by giving her yellow roses as well as a signed shirt with messages of support.

Tyson Wall said tears ran down Avree’s face as he handed her his rose before the game. Ayzaiah Pruneda said it couldn’t have felt any better to see her so moved, and said the whole family is suffering with her.

Ayzaiah Pruneda said there are benefits to being a small community in Warden though, because the love and support is so much greater.

Tyson Wall said he’ll just keep praying for his cousin, and “she’s in God’s hands now.”

The Warden sophomore said she’s always been a warm, social person. Tara Pruneda said not being able to go places and see people like she used to might be the thing her daughter misses most.

Hanging out with her friends every day at school has been replaced with sitting in her room, or in a hospital all day, Avree said, something she’s not really used to.

Even hanging out with her friends outside of school has become difficult in the limited time Avree gets to spend at home now.

“I always have to ask if they’re sick, if they can even see me,” Avree Pruneda said. “I have to make sure I’m feeling at my best to see them, and sometimes I’m not. It really sucks because then I ruin the opportunity to hang out with them.”

Kaya Enriquez, a fellow sophomore at Warden High School, said Avree Pruneda has been one of her best friends since they met in second grade.

“The first time I met Avree, she was just so welcoming. She acted like we’d been best friends since birth,” Enriquez said. “She’s always been like that.”

Enriquez said when Avree told her the news over FaceTime, they both just broke into tears.

“I told her ‘I know things are hard right now, but I know God wouldn’t have given you this huge life bump if he knew you couldn’t handle it,’” Enriquez said.

Enriquez said she talks to Avree on a daily basis, mostly just trying to make jokes and help her think positive things.

“Honestly, I just make jokes because I just want to make her laugh because, once she’s laughing, I know she’ll forget about everything,” Enriquez said.

Avree Pruneda said, even in her room at the hospital in Spokane, doctors will tell her how much they love how happy and energetic she is when they see her.

“I love the vibe I get from this hospital, and it just makes me really happy knowing I have good people taking care of me here, and at school,” Avree Pruneda said. “It’s awesome how happy they make me.”