Avery's Wish
Avery's Wish_1
<p>Avery Irvin checks out an iPod Touch with his mother Ellie as part of his shopping spree at Mall of America. The device was his big purchase choice as well as his sister's choice. Irvin split his shopping funds with his younger sister.</p>
<p>An indoor roller coaster towers above Avery Irvin as he takes in the grandeur of Nickelodeon Universe, an indoor amusement park located in the center of Mall of America.</p>
<p>On June 9 Avery Irvin flashes a smile to his mother Ellie after learning that his wish for a shopping spree at the Mall of America was granted.</p>
<p>Avery Irvin is greeted with hugs from his grandmother Nancy Hannasch upon arrival to the Radisson hotel Sept. 21 in Bloomington, Minn.</p>
<p>Ellie and Avery Irvin search for an electronics store on a directory kiosk at the Mall of America on September 21. The Bloomington, Minnesota mall is touted as the world's largest.</p>
<p>Avery Irvin looks over his shoulder with a grin as he sits in the pilot's seat prior to departing the Spokane International Airport on Sept. 21 for his Make-A-Wish sponsored trip to Minnesota.</p>
<p>Bella and Avery Irvin react as they are raised and lowered on the Wonder Pets Flyboat at Nickelodeon Universe.</p>
<p>11-year-old Avery Irvin, of Coeur d'Alene, browses the thousands of Legos on display at Lego Land at the Mall of America.</p>
<p>After four days at Mall of America, Avery Irvin travelled with his mother and sister to several northern Minnesota towns to visit with extended family where he fished for the first time, catching a small bass.</p>
<p>Ellie Irvin consoles her daughter Bella, 8, exhausted after exploring the 4.2 million square-foot Mall of America for the third consecutive day.</p>
<p>Avery Irvin uses his new iPod to make a video of a stingray display inside the Mall of America's Sea Life aquarium.</p>
<p>Bella Irvin, 8, reacts as her brother Avery wins a bear in a crane machine at the Mall of America. The coin-operated games are among Avery's various temporary obsessions.</p>
Bittersweet.
Eleven years of heartbreak and hope. That's the way it's been for Ellie Irvin. At the Week 22 mark of her first pregnancy her soon-to-be son, Avery, was diagnosed with a rare, congenital heart defect known as Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome, a defect with a mortality rate less than 10 percent, Irvin was told.
Heartbreak.
Research and Internet contacts made with other "heart moms" led Irvin to one of the country's leading pediatric cardiothoracic surgeons who was working at Cleveland Clinic in Ohio. Arrangements were made to deliver Avery in Cleveland and the infant's first open heart surgery was performed five days later.
At six months, another surgery. Then, at age 3, the Coeur d'Alene boy had undergone a third open heart procedure, a common approach to HLHS disease. The goal was to redirect blood flow in an effort to decrease the workload on his heart. The results yielded an approximate 20 percent increase of oxygen saturation in the blood.
Three years ago Avery was diagnosed with anxiety disorder and Asperger's Syndrome, a high functioning form of Autism. These new challenges seemed to shadow his heart condition, for a time.
Avery's health is closely monitored through regular testing and visits to his cardiologist. Although his health is fair today, the risk of complication can come any day, at any time. So, he was granted a wish through the local chapter of the Make-A-Wish Foundation. That wish was to visit the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minn. - which was a good choice by his mother. After all, it's close to her hometown where most of her family still resides. On Sept. 21 Avery, his mother Ellie and his sister Bella, 8, boarded a plane at the Spokane International Airport. Destination: The Land of 10,000 Lakes.