Writer
Creating Impact Through Powerful Storytelling
PRIOR WORK
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…
Organ Transformation
If you could have anything you want in the world, what would it be? For me, the answer is: transformed organ donation in the United States. 112,437 people are currently waiting for life-saving transplants in the US; one person is added to that list every 9 minutes. With existing organ donation policies in place, 20 people on the transplant waiting list die every day…
Personal Statement
For the greater part of 2013, I rushed my son to the hospital every three to six weeks to be treated for septic shock – the often-fatal condition, triggered by relentless infection and an increasingly fragile immune system. Evan, age 4, waited for a new kidney. His first transplant, scarred from repeated infections, required nephrostomy tubes to drain. Doctors pushed to remove the ailing graft; they were convinced we were out of options. The head of the department berated, “If we don’t remove it, your son will die!”
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…