ST. LOUIS — An aspiring St. Louis rapper isn't letting a deadly diagnosis silence his voice.
Avery Hall, who goes by the stage name Verifyd, is battling leukemia for the second time.
Liz Hall can’t help but take a daily look at her son Avery’s empty bedroom. “I hate it when he’s not here,” said Liz Hall, Avery’s mom.
Hall makes the drive daily to see her son, not in the studio, but at Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital. “I took him to the ER and they did some bloodwork,” said Liz. “They said that he didn’t have any white blood cells.”
In 2019, doctors diagnosed Avery with AML leukemia.
“I thought my life was over,” said Avery Hall. “I thought I was never going to be normal again.”
“He got the chemo, and he got some blood products, and it seemed like it woke him up,” said Liz.
Avery was in remission for nearly three years, but since going to the hospital for what he thought was strep throat in March 2023, he has gotten all too used to a familiar beat.
“I’m fighting AML leukemia for the second time,” said Avery.
“In four years, the medications have become so much more targeted,” said Liz.
Avery recently had his second transplant treatment in June.
“We just have a few more milestones to clear and he gets to come home,” said Liz.
He won’t be allowed to travel for at least a year since he’s immunocompromised, but Avery dreams of taking a trip to Disney World.
“It just seems like the dream place to go,” said Avery. “Honestly, with my relapse, I don’t know how much longer I’m going to be here.”
While not everyone has the money to donate to a trip Avery said we can all sign up for the Bone Marrow Registry, which has a need for minority and mixed-race donors.
“Your donation might not get picked,” said Avery. “You still went the extra mile.”
“You might not be the match for Avery,” said Liz. “You could be the match for somebody’s Avery.”
If you would like to sign up to be a bone marrow donor, click here.
If you would like to contribute to Avery’s trip to Disney World, click here.
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