We’re quickly approaching the middle of summer, and I can’t help but grieve.
Evelyn has now been inpatient for almost 10 months. In just 80 days, she’ll reach one full year of living inside these hospital walls. A year without sleeping in her own bed. A year without running through the backyard. A year without simply being a kid.
There really aren’t any big updates right now, and honestly, that’s okay. Evelyn has remained consistently stable, and in the transplant world, stable is something we’re incredibly thankful for. Every day she stays strong is another day she’s ready when the right heart comes.
Lately she’s been asking more and more, “Why can’t I go home?”
No matter how many times I answer, it never gets easier. Every question breaks my heart a little more.
Then she’ll look at me with so much hope and say, “I can’t wait to get my heart.” I can’t wait either, sweet girl.
There are seven other children at Mayo waiting for a heart transplant right now. Every one of them has a family counting days, holding onto hope, and praying for the phone call that could change everything. Every child is at a different stage of their journey, but we all understand the weight of waiting.
As parents, we’re caught between wanting time to stand still and desperately wanting it to move faster. We celebrate every stable day, yet each passing day is another day our children aren’t home.
Summer is supposed to be filled with family vacations, camping trips, swimming pools, late nights catching fireflies, and making memories. Instead, we’ve learned to celebrate the little things inside a hospital room and cherish every smile, every laugh, every good day.
We’re still hoping. Still believing that one day this season of waiting will become part of Evelyn’s story, not the end of it.
Until then, we’ll keep loving her, advocating for her, and holding onto the same hope she carries so effortlessly:
“I can’t wait to get my heart.”
How You Can Help
A big thank you to all who have donated to COTA for Evelyn’s Heart. Because we raised over $100k within our first 6 months of fundraising, we have earned the $10k challenge grant through COTA! We are so grateful for how our community has rallied for Evelyn in every way and helped us reach this milestone. We literally could not do this without you.
THANK YOU!
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What makes our partnership with COTA so great is that they will be with Evelyn throughout her lifetime. Every dollar donated to COTA in honor of Evelyn goes to transplant-related expenses. Thank you for being here with us for Evelyn.