Meet Evan: 2020 Family Advocacy Week Champion

Evan is participating in Speak Now for Kids Family Advocacy Week from August 10-14, 2020. Through this special event, Evan and his family will share information about his health journey, UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital’s role in providing Evan with necessary health care services, and why the public and our elected officials must invest in the future of kids like Evan.

Evan was diagnosed with renal failure at 24 weeks in utero during a routine ultrasound.

“When doctors discovered Evan's condition in the womb, we were told he wasn't going to last the pregnancy, and if he did, he would die at birth,” says Alison, Evan’s mother.

In his first week, Evan required a peritoneal dialysis catheter placement. Over the course of his four-month NICU stay, he would have 11 more surgeries. Evan was then transferred to UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital in Los Angeles.

At nearly 6 months old, Evan received a gastronomy tube, started hemodialysis, and was discharged from UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital for the first time. Evan and his parents drove up to the hospital four times per week for hemodialysis treatments once he was discharged until he received his first kidney transplant at 2-and-a-half years old.

“Evan wouldn't be alive without the treatment he received at UCLA Mattel Children's Hospital,” says Alison.

Today, Evan is happy, his kidney is stable, and he is on a lot of medications—which has been a constant in his life. He is at UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital once a month for two days of infusions and labs. He attends the neighborhood school, loves his friends and video games.

“Moments before my C-section, the doctor informed me my child had zero chance of survival,” says Alison. “After his birth, the team told me Evan wouldn't be alive by morning. Evan is 10 years old today. Don't let anyone take your hope away.”