‘Bucket list’ baby with Spinal Muscular Atrophy dies

Originally published April 30, 2012: This story has been updated. 

TORONTO – Avery, the five-month-old infant whose ‘bucket list’ blog went viral on the Internet this week, has died. 

According to an entry posted on May 1, Avery Canahuati passed away Monday of pulmonary complications from Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA).

The infant was diagnosed last month
with Type 1 SMA-an often fatal disease that destroys the nerves controlling voluntary
muscle movement, including the respiratory system. Doctors reportedly told Avery’s parents their daughter was unlikely to see her
second birthday.

 “While we were away of the severity of her diagnosis, we never lost hope for Avery,” Mike Canahuati, Avery’s father, wrote in a blog entry Tuesday.

“Avery’s Bucket List” was started by the girl’s parents as a way of keeping their family and friends updated about
their daughter’s health. As of yesterday, Avery’s blog had over 2,068,575
views.   

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Written from the infant’s perspective but
penned by her father, the blog entries are light-hearted, humorous and full of
photos that outlined some of Avery’s “bucket list” adventures and goals. 
Below are some of the items Avery had already checked off
her bucket list (you can read the full list here): 

• Waking up smiling 
• Eating a cupcake 
• Get a massage 
• Have a first kiss 
• Teach the First Family about SMA 
• Throw the first pitch at a baseball game 
• Visit where mommy and daddy first met 
• Blow bubbles with my mommy and daddy 
• Fly a kite 

VIDEO: AVERY FLIES A KITE  

Avery’s parents say they hope the blog helps bring awareness to
SMA. “I know I’m not singing a song, doing anything funny, saying something
politically incorrect, or anything like that, but it would be nice if my
story went viral so that SMA has a face,” says an
entry posted on April 9.

Avery’s last item on her “to do” list was to overcome her illness.

“But if not, then I’d like to take one last breath, then take one
more before I go to live with my Uncle Bryant, Nana Carolyn, Papa George, and
all my great Grandparents (Tommy, Laura, Jim, Walter, Julia, Joseph, and
Audine),” reads
one post. 

For
more information: 

Avery’s
blog: http://www.averycan.blogspot.com/ 

Avery
on Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/AverysBucketList 

Avery
on Twitter:  https://twitter.com/#!/averybucketlist 

Avery on YouTube:  http://www.youtube.com/user/averysbucket