A few months back, when he was one of the new additions at camp during spring training with the Detroit Tigers, Mike Aviles couldn’t hold back the sheer joy and relief in sharing the incredible news.
The 35-year-old infielder was beaming when talking about the recent feat of his 5-year-old daughter, Adriana. One of Aviles’ four children, Adriana was diagnosed with leukemia last May. But after undergoing a bone-marrow transplant in December, she was declared cancer-free.
Before the utter elation of such a pronouncement, it had been a trying year for the Aviles family, one that made him gain an even deeper appreciation for the mother of his children.