Avianna Vela
Avianna was born on January 28th and instantly became the sunshine in her family's life. She is the little sister to her brothers, Ruben and Damien and an excellent big sister to Amaya. Avianna's house is full of love and laughter and her bright personality is always in the center!
Avianna came into the world as a loud and energetic child and so it makes perfect sense that she fell in love with cheerleading. She is very intelligent and has always been a little Miss Independent. She cares deeply about others and is always try to help her stepdad with anything he is doing around the house from fixing the car to painting the house.
Avianna is so creative and loves to color, paint or do any kind of arts and crafts. She is also an outdoors girl and enjoys going to the beach or the pool, especially with her family. Her favorite food is chicken nuggets, hands down!
Diagnosis
Avianna's mom Veronica first noticed some concerning symptoms in December of 2025. Her face began to look droopy. After several visits to medical offices, they were finally given an MRI which showed a tumor in Avianna's brainstem. Her family received a diagnosis of DIPG on December 18, 2025, right before Christmas. Their world was turned completely upside down and they struggled to process a disease they had never even heard of before.
They jumped in to support Avianna as she began treatment and are focusing on spending time together as a family, finding bits of joy each day and loving on their precious girl. Veronica says she is choosing to share their family's story, "to increase awareness and motivate people to look harder for a cure. No parent or child should ever have to go through this."
Avianna is fighting hard against a disease that is so unfair and remaining a beacon of hope and joy for her family and the Archer Foundation is proud to stand beside her as they pray for more good days.
