You’d never know it, but this photo of Evan was taken minutes before he underwent a big and risky surgery. We were beyond nervous but somehow, he found a way to make us laugh.

I was 21 weeks pregnant when my husband Anton and I were about to find out if our baby was a boy or a girl. At the hospital, we found out, instead, that our unborn child had a heart problem.

The news came as a shock.

The day after the ultrasound, Anton and I met Dr. Tiscar Cavalle, a cardiologist at the Children’s. She spoke to us about the severity of our baby’s disease. But above all, she reassured us, and told us there was hope for him.

Evan was born at 39 weeks, a big, beautiful baby who seemed perfectly healthy. We were overjoyed, but our relief was short-lived. At just six days old, he started suffering from severe arrhythmia. At 17 days, our baby underwent his first open-heart surgery. Such a big surgery for such a little boy!

While the surgery was essential, it came with very real risks. Our son could experience serious complications, or worse, he could die. Coming face to face with these possibilities, we felt powerless and terrified.

That’s when Anton and I decided to talk about organ donation. We wanted to have a plan in case our baby didn’t make it. It was the most difficult conversation of our lives...

Thankfully, the expertise and care shown by our surgeon, Dr. Christo Tchervenkov, and his team calmed our fears. With every surgery, we knew Evan was in the best possible hands.

Because of his fragile health, our boy had several long stays in the Children’s Cardiology Division, where over 4,000 children suffering from heart disease are treated each year.

And it’s thanks to your generosity that these children have access to new therapies and technologies, allowing over 90% of them to survive and aspire to a normal life. That’s our biggest wish for Evan.

The Children’s saved his life. And you did too.

You allowed the Children’s to provide the expert care Evan needed and attract an incredibly talented team of specialists, including Dr. Tchervenkov and Dr. Cavalle, the very doctors who gave our boy a chance to beat the odds.

Caring people like you have the power to ease the difficult struggle children like Evan must go through to aspire to a normal life. Although he’s undergone three open-heart surgeries, and despite the threat Covid-19 poses to his health, we were given the go ahead to send our son to school. We were thrilled.

Our boy’s heart may not work perfectly but that certainly doesn’t stop him from being a handful, deliberately annoying his older brother and sister and terrifying the cat… To tell you the truth, we embrace his brattiness and wouldn’t have it any other way!

Your invaluable support for the Children’s and its innovations gives us hope that he will have a long and healthy future. Our big five-year-old boy is a real fighter.

Please give today, so that young patients like Evan can be kids, and have a chance at a bright future.

- Kimberly and Anton, Evan’s proud parents

P.S. Our little fighter has been through so much. We’re mindful that one day, Evan’s heart could falter from working so hard. So we take each day as they come. Caring people like you gave our boy a chance to beat the odds. Please give and help him and other Children’s patients aspire to a normal life.