{"id":511,"date":"2026-09-07T21:11:01","date_gmt":"2026-09-07T21:11:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforevelynsheart\/?p=511"},"modified":"2026-09-08T21:15:16","modified_gmt":"2026-09-08T21:15:16","slug":"345-days-in-the-hospital","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforevelynsheart\/2026\/09\/07\/345-days-in-the-hospital\/","title":{"rendered":"345 days in the hospital"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"577\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforevelynsheart\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6643\/2026\/09\/FB_IMG_1788901755458-577x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-512\" style=\"width:290px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforevelynsheart\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6643\/2026\/09\/FB_IMG_1788901755458-577x1024.jpg 577w, https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforevelynsheart\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6643\/2026\/09\/FB_IMG_1788901755458-169x300.jpg 169w, https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforevelynsheart\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6643\/2026\/09\/FB_IMG_1788901755458-768x1364.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforevelynsheart\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6643\/2026\/09\/FB_IMG_1788901755458-865x1536.jpg 865w, https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforevelynsheart\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6643\/2026\/09\/FB_IMG_1788901755458.jpg 941w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 577px) 100vw, 577px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This picture was shortly after Evelyn\u2019s Berlin dressing change the other day. Dressing changes are usually somewhat painful for her, especially because her skin is so sensitive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But something that continues to amaze me is how much this girl has learned throughout this journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At just 6 years old, Evelyn has learned to advocate for herself. She teaches people how to do her dressing changes, knows how to silence her alarms, knows exactly which wire and lead goes where on her body, understands what her medications do, and knows what all of the machines around her do and why they\u2019re there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She knows her body. She knows her equipment. She knows her care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For a 6-year-old, her medical knowledge is incredible, but more than that, she has developed a level of confidence and self-advocacy that is far beyond her years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She never should have had to learn any of this. A 6-year-old should be worrying about toys, school, and playing with her friends, not Berlin Heart alarms, dressing changes, medications, and wires.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Yet here she is, 345 days later, still teaching the people around her a thing or two. <img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\u2764\ufe0f\" src=\"https:\/\/fonts.gstatic.com\/s\/e\/notoemoji\/17.0\/2764_fe0f\/32.png\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I am so incredibly proud of this girl. <img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\ud83e\udd79\" src=\"https:\/\/fonts.gstatic.com\/s\/e\/notoemoji\/17.0\/1f979\/32.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\u2764\ufe0f\" src=\"https:\/\/fonts.gstatic.com\/s\/e\/notoemoji\/17.0\/2764_fe0f\/32.png\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-how-you-can-help\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">How You Can Help<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/wl.donorperfect.net\/weblink\/weblink.aspx?name=cota&amp;id=27&amp;dpgid=COTAforEvelynsHeart&amp;dpgsol=PTOL&amp;dpg_frname=Evelyn+Otto\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Click Here to Donate Now<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bonfire.com\/cota-for-evelyns-heart\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Get your &#8220;Hearts for Evelyn&#8221; T-Shirt<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/people\/Hearts-for-Evelyn\/61567380579056\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Join our &#8220;Hearts for Evelyn&#8221; Facebook Group<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This picture was shortly after Evelyn\u2019s Berlin dressing change the other day. Dressing changes are usually somewhat painful for her, especially because her skin is so sensitive. But something that continues to amaze me is how much this girl has learned throughout this journey. At just 6 years old, Evelyn has learned to advocate for [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2374,"featured_media":512,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-511","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.6 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>345 days in the hospital - COTA for Evelyn&#039;s Heart<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforevelynsheart\/2026\/09\/07\/345-days-in-the-hospital\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"345 days in the hospital\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This picture was shortly after Evelyn\u2019s Berlin dressing change the other day. 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