A nine-year-old Lakeland, Florida girl has found a way to turn her physical disorder into an opportunity to help others.
Ava Thompson, who is diagnosed with epilepsy, has literally put into action the old cliché of turning lemons into lemonade.
It begins every afternoon when she and her six-year-old sister Zoe combine lemons, sugar, water, and then add what she calls her “secret ingredient.”
“You have to put love and kindness in there,” Ava told Spectrum News 9 in the Tampa area. Since their first stand in March, the cups of lemonade are free but accompanied with a handout about epilepsy.
The nine-year-old says she wants to raise awareness and support children living with the neurological disorder after she was diagnosed with the condition in 2023.
Her mother, Anna, said the lemonade stand idea came out of difficult conversation she and her husband had with Ava after her last doctor’s visit. She told Spectrum News: “We had the hard talk with our girls that there is no cure for epilepsy and that epilepsy is something that Ava will have the rest of her life. As we were talking about our journey — we mentioned our stays in the hospital together — they decided that they wanted to do a lemonade stand to raise money for epilepsy.”
Donations have also trickled in at their stand. So far, Ava and Zoey have raised $500, which will all go to buy toys for children in the hospital.
Ava is also drawing on her own experience for the toy donations. She remembers the joy she experienced when she received a toy during a hospital stay.
“And that’s what I want to do for the kids and families in the hospital fighting epilepsy,” she said. “To make the world a better place.”
Anyone interested in helping to raise money for children with epilepsy, Ava and Zoey will be hosting their next lemonade stand at the Lakeland Mayfaire from May 10 to 11.
