On March 18th, Lindsay and Matt’s world was turned upside down. What started off as a trip to Hoag Irvine ER, to address Evelyn’s abdominal pain, quickly cascaded into a series of tests, suspected liver cirrhosis and an emergency transport via ambulance to UCLA’s Children’s Hepatic Department to undergo an emergency liver biopsy procedure. 

For the past two weeks, Lindsay and Matt have stayed bedside with Evelyn in the Pediatric Unit and now Pediatric ICU where she’s currently undergoing dialysis treatment. Her kidneys are working fine - this is filtering and removing the toxins that the liver would be removing. The results from the biopsy suggest an autoimmune condition has attacked Evelyn’s liver; impairing function. She is now in acute liver failure. If the current dialysis treatment cannot repair function, the medical team will stabilize and prepare her body for a liver transplant. 

In addition to her parents dealing with the emotional weight of this quickly evolving medical emergency, there’s also the financial burden of medical bills, being displaced from their home and having to stay at a hotel where they can shower or attempt to nap close to the medical center. 

The road to recovery is long and heavy. There’s no finite timeline on how long Evelyn may be on dialysis, how long it could take to find a transplant (if required), and how long the recovery could be post transplant. With so much uncertainty, I’m asking for family, friends and kind hearted acquaintances to come together and support this beautiful family during their darkest days.

My sister and Matt have always shown up with love, kindness, and incredible warmth. Their entire world revolves around Evelyn. She was a gift from God to our entire family after they tried for years. The joy she brings to everyone is immeasurable.

We now have an opportunity to come together and support them so they can commit 100% of their time and energy to their beautiful Evelyn, who brings happiness to everyone she meets. We want to see this sweet girl—who won a prize at school for her book, The Brave Little Eagle, just the day before all of this—continue to create, write, and make us all laugh again as soon as possible.

Any donation, no matter how small, will be greatly appreciated. If you’re unable to donate, please consider sharing this page with your friends. Most importantly, please continue to lift Evelyn and her parents up in prayer. We feel all the love and support, and it means so much. 

With Love,

Michelle Rumney and Lauren Lucas