Evie brought smiles to our faces and joy to our hearts with her larger-than-life personality, but in 2016, she got sick and received a diagnosis of acute lymphoblastic leukemia, a rare and aggressive blood cancer. This changed life for Evie and our family. Childhood cancer was not on our radar.

In 2017, Evie had a bone marrow transplant at Texas Children’s Hospital (TCH). She was 5 years old for most of her treatment and enjoyed the simplest things. In the unit, she loved sitting in the rocking chair outside her room and inviting the nurses to imaginary pool parties.  Having a party was one of her favorite things to do.

Being at the hospital on the transplant floor is challenging for any parent. It’s not an easy thing to see your child go through treatment. You can feel pretty isolated. It’s a journey, but you’re not alone. His Grace Foundation helped Evie and our family keep our spirits up, keep us going, and make things easier for us as we heard the disease was still there. Surprisingly, two weeks after the transplant, we found out the cancer was gone, but due to complications of another treatment, Evie passed away on March 2, 2017, just two days after her 6th birthday.

After moving to Houston sometime later, I accepted an opportunity to volunteer through the Junior League of Houston. I recognized the name of His Grace Foundation from our family’s time at TCH, and thought this is a perfect time to give back and to remember Evie. I am happy that I am helping improve the well-being of families going through a similar journey.