When she went out for the Effingham girls golf team her freshman year, she started as the “sixth man.” By end of the season, she was shooting consistently in the low 90s or high 80s and moved up as the team’s No. 2 or No. 3 player.

But right after Memorial Day in 2017, her sickness got worse. She was finally transported by ambulance to Washington University Children’s Hospital in St. Louis where it was finally determined she had Graves’ Disease, which is an auto immune bacterial problem in the thyroid.

“The doctors told me my numbers were off the charts. They said I was the worst case they had seen,” Ava recalled. “That night they started me on multiple pills, which were supposed to slow things down.”

She threw up the first pills she was given, but was still released and told to keep taking the pills. Within a few days, she was feeling better. But three weeks later, she got sick again and headed back to St. Louis.

“They had a hard time getting the medicine regulated so it wouldn’t make me sick,” Ava added. “They increased the dosage a little and I don’t think I’ve thrown up since.”

About a year ago, Ava made a big change and went to a chiropractor in Charleston, who began to gradually replace the medicine she was taking with supplements.

“So far, the results have been very good,” Ava said. “I was skeptical at first, because he was not a regular chiropractor. But my numbers are great and I’m slowly getting off the hospital medicine.”

The results on the golf course have been great, too. First of all, her strength is returning. She no longer has to ride a cart.

This fall, she has consistently turned in rounds in the high 70s and low 80s. She recently matched her personal best with a 78 in the Apollo Conference Tournament that helped the Lady Hearts capture the league championship. For nine holes, she has only shot 40 or higher twice this season.

She also credits her improved to play to Mike Moncel, the golf coach at Eastern Illinois University, who has been giving Ava lessons.

“He changed my whole swing,” she explained. “He told me if I wanted to improve, I would have to change a lot. He said it could take up to four years for me to see all the results of those changes. We started from scratch.”

The initial focus was on chipping and putting, but Ava also noticed she started hitting the ball straight more consistently off the tee and with her irons.

This past year, the focus has been on positioning the club face, the flight path of the ball, specific details of her golf swing and course management.

“What helped me the most was increasing the speed at the bottom of my swing,” Ava said. “That has given me a lot more yardage than before. I was at 170 to 180 yards off the tee. Now, I’m typically 220 to 230 yards. It’s made a big difference.

“Working on the flight of the ball has also helped,” she added. “I can now hook or slice the ball around a corner, which is great. I can take new angles to the green, which makes the game easier and helps lower my score.”

Ava would like to win the regional tournament (scheduled for Thursday), both individually and as a team, which would qualify the Lady Hearts for the state tournament.

“I believe we have the talent to make state,” she said. “The whole team wants to get there. If we play like we’re capable, we should make it.”

And it helps having a stronger, healthier Ava Boehm on the team.

“Things are much better now. I’m much stronger than I was,” she emphasized. “This whole thing started as a virus and I’m still trying to get rid of it totally. But my blood test numbers are much better and I’m a lot healthier.”

The recruiting process has already started for Ava, both for golf and academics. She has five colleges interested in her as a golfer and twice that number for academics. She wants to major in aerospace engineering.

She is not close to making a collegiate decision, but was quick to point out the school’s golf program will play a role in her ultimate choice.

And with the goals she has set for herself, it’s no wonder.

“I would like to go pro someday,” Ava admitted. “I’d like to be that American golfer everybody talks about.

“I know that’s a very lofty goal. But my coach tells me somebody has to be the best; it might as well be me.”