Cool Tigers

Avery was born Feb 8, 2013 at Virginia Hospital Center. She was in distress during labor and was rushed to Children's National following an emergency c-section. The
Neonatal Neurology team diagnosed her with HIE (hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy).

To reduce the risk of damage to the brain, the Children's NICU worked quickly to put her on a cooling bed for 72 hours that lowered her body temperature while her body was experiencing seizures.

Thanks to the quick diagnosis and actions of her team, Avery made a miraculous recovery and is now a healthy 11 year old on her way to middle school.

Ten years later, July 2023, Avery’s younger sister Sutton received emergency surgery at Children’s National for osteomyelitis (bone infection).

Sutton was diagnosed with B-cell ALL leukemia a few weeks later when her team was doing follow-up blood work and she was immediately hospitalized for treatment.

Tigers became Sutton’s spirit animal that helped her feel brave and strong in the hospital. Sutton is now in the maintenance phase of her chemotherapy treatment and hopes to complete her chemo by October 2025.

Formerly known as Avery's "Cool" Kids, this Race for Every Child team was created to celebrate the amazing team of doctors at Children's National Neonatal Neurology and all of the cool kids who have had experienced the benefits of cooling bed therapy.

The “Cool Tigers” honors both Avery’s cooling treatment and Sutton’s brave tiger spirit.

Proceeds from the Cool Tigers go to the CAM fund which supports Avery's former NICU team lead Dr. Taeun Chang's neonatal research legacy. Sadly, Dr. Chang passed away June 2022 from complications of cancer. We are forever grateful for all Dr. Chang did in her life to further the success of cooling bed treatments for families across the country.