Sara Avery
Beating Death - 10 Years to Recovery
The day Sara was born, my life changed in ways I could never have imagined. People always said that having a child would transform everything, but nothing could have prepared me for the reality of it. As a child, Sara loved to play pretend—little did I know, it was a glimpse into the passion she was born to pursue: acting and singing. By the age of five, she took the stage for the first time in The Wizard of Oz. At just nine years old, Sara was hired by Meadowbrook Theatre to perform in Dracula, The Rock Opera. Less than a year later, she was cast again in Something Wicked This Way Comes. But it was at age 12 that she truly came into her own, delivering her first standout singing performance as the Sour Kangaroo in Seussical. Click Here To See The Sour Kangaroo
Beneath all of her joy and success, Sara was fighting an enemy. This enemy was strong, she was struggling with Restrictive Anorexia (We later named the disease ED). Sara was able to control the disease for a few years, but in late 2014 the disease was able to take control of her. During the next three months, she fought against the disease and was starting to lose. During early 2015, our family started to work with doctors and therapists to slow down the progression of the disease. We were failing miserably, we were informed that her internal organs had strunk 20%. This disease was winning—the goal of ED was the end of Sara. Everything culminated on April 7, 2015. The day that changed my life forever. During the night, Sara bottomed out with a heart rate at 36 Beats Per Minute and 6 shallow Breaths Per Minute. She was close to her organs completely shutting down.
On May 12, 2015, Sara was admitted to Remuda Ranch in Arizona just after her 14th birthday. While at Remuda Ranch, she spent months fighting ED. Among the facts that we learned during her care:
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Remuda Ranch Mortality Rate – 25%
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Remuda Ranch Mortality Rate with the 20 patients Sara lived with – 35%
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7 patients never reached their 10-year anniversary
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Recovery lasts for 10 years with no relapse. Survival Day - April 7, 2025.
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To best summarize the disease, a TED talk was shared with us. Here is the Link
When Sara eventually flew home from Arizona, the real work for her began. She had 24/7 care for close to another six months. But we had an Ace in the Hole. His name was Jake. From the instant that he met Sara, Jake knew his job.
As time progressed, Sara started to work on her craft again.
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Beauty and The Beast
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Cinderella
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Adams Family
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Wizard of Oz
Sara’s hard work and dedication paid off, earning her a scholarship to pursue Musical Theatre. After two years, her college journey ended on a memorable note—singing in a parking structure on a bitterly cold 37-degree day in March 2021. Shortly after, she made the difficult decision to leave college and follow her own path.
Mission Accomplished
Through it all, the reality of her 10-year anniversary from Remuda was always in the background. Today, Sara has reached that milestone—a testament to her strength, resilience, and unwavering passion. As her father, I could not be prouder.
Sara Makes a New Plan
Over the next year, Sara worked three jobs to self-fund a trip to Stella Adler’s prestigious 8-week summer program in June 2022. When she returned, she set a plan in motion to accomplish three key goals. Her plan was ambitious yet clear:
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Move to New York City in September 2023 and work for a year.
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Begin training in Musical Theatre in September 2024.
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Take the stage and perform in NYC in 2025. Click Here to See Sara's First NYC performance.
