These 200 strangers came together just to put a splash of joy in a little girl's life.
Ava Doiron-Frankland of Salem, New Hampshire, was 5 years old when she was diagnosed with glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer, according to the Eagle Tribune. As her 6th birthday approached, she asked for a swimming pool. Her parents, Michael Doiron and Jeff Frankland, were determined to make that wish come true. The pair put out a call on the Facebook page they created for their daughter, "Ava's Army," asking for help with getting a pool, according to WHDH.
They did not expect an army of 200 volunteers who offered to pitch in and build a deck and swimming pool in the span of two weeks.
When Ava first laid eyes on her surprise, earlier this week, she was eager to start swimming, "First can I put my bathing suit on?" she asked, according to WHDH.
While Ava's parents purchased the pool itself for $7,000, volunteers pitched in about $40,000 worth of work and donations, the Eagle Tribune reported. Frankland said he was amazed by the strangers who offered up their time for little Ava.
"It is crazy that people will do so much for someone they have not even met," he told the outlet.
Volunteers said their efforts were worth it. "The end goal for all of this was to see her smile and jump into that pool and make her laugh," volunteer Kurt Auger told WHDH.
The gift brought some welcome joy to the 6-year-old's life. The young cancer patient had been staying at the Cleveland Clinic for two months undergoing treatment, the Eagle Tribune reported.
"It's an aggressive form of cancer so it needs to be treated aggressively," Frankland told the New Hampshire Union Leader, back in March.
Though Ava will return to the Cleveland Clinic next week for more treatment, her parents say the happiness they feel from the volunteers' efforts is indescribable.
"It’s crazy. Since this whole thing started, we have been very fortunate to have so many people who just fall in love with Ava," Frankland told the Eagle Tribune.
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