MOTHER
a profoundly brilliant, young man with unique medical challenges; and, a bright, compassionate, bold, confident, young woman
MOTHERHOOD
My Son
Evan was born with kidney failure; from approximately 30 days old, his life relied on dialysis. For two and a half years, we drove to the hospital every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday for 4-hour dialysis treatments – it was our life. In 2012, Evan received his first kidney transplant; a year later, he’d need another. Both kidneys were gifts from living donors: the first from me, his mom, then Monica, my mother’s cousin. His current kidney, lovingly nicknamed “Little Murph,” has been with him for over 6 years…
Saving Evan
For the greater part of a year, Alison Beier rushed her son to the hospital every three to six weeks to be treated for septic shock – an often-fatal condition triggered by relentless infection. Evan, 4, waited for a new kidney. His first transplant, scarred from repeated infections, required tubes to drain – his immune system, fragile.
Evan’s doctors pushed to remove the ailing kidney; his life would rely solely on dialysis. They were convinced there was no other option…
Family Voices of CA Health Summit Presentation, 2017
Colorful, PowerPoint slide presentation Alison gave at the FVCA Health Summit in 2017.
When the Atheist Prays
I can’t make an argument for the existence of God in a single article, but as a skeptic and a cynic, I find myself at a place in life where I have taken a leap of faith into the belief that there may be something greater out there. Faith in something greater, and the practice of prayer is indeed a powerful thing that I can’t seem to totally understand or explain, but the story of my friends Alison and Dan, and their son Evan, has made me a believer.