Former standout basketball player and Nickerson native, Ava Jones, has completed her final round of chemotherapy, her family announced this week.
Jones’ grandmother, Mary Honeck, shared the update on Facebook, thanking the medical team that helped guide Ava through her recovery from Stage 4 Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.
Jones, who was diagnosed in February, revealed in April that her cancer was 99% gone. She continued treatment as a precaution to ensure the disease was fully eradicated.
Ava Jones gained national attention in July 2022 after she and her family were struck by an impaired driver while walking in Louisville, Kentucky. Her father, Trey Jones, died from his injuries, while Ava and her mother, Amy, suffered critical injuries. Ava sustained a traumatic brain injury. Her younger brother, Creek, was also hurt, though less seriously. Her older brother, Hunter, was not on the trip.
The family had traveled to Kentucky for a basketball tournament just days after Ava had committed to play at the University of Iowa. The driver, Michael Hurley, was under the influence of fentanyl and was later sentenced to 70 years in prison.
Despite a determined effort to return to the court, Ava announced her medical retirement from basketball in June 2024.