Evan Strong!

My name is Abigail Alvarado Ruiz. I wanted you to hear who Evan Maine is. Evan is my nephew. He is an amazing 13yr old, who is feeling like a cool teenager! He is the first to greet you and throw himself into your arms when you walk in through the door. He likes to sit and observe the room, he’s always looking to see how he can help and is definitely a people pleaser, always looking for ways to make someone smile. He is very knowledgeable about everything and can carry his own in an intense conversation, especially if it’s about sports. He was diagnosed with cancer last week, for the second time in his 13yrs of life. This is his story.

Evan's first battle with cancer was in 2011, when he had just turned 1 year old. He had a very large tumor for his little body. It was located in his pelvic area and he had to have chemo, radiation and an extremely complicated surgery. As a result of all that he endured, he was left with some difficult medical disabilities. After many years he happily earned the title of “Cancer Survivor”! He continued to live life at his fullest potential together with his now 7-year-old brother Brendan. He likes to play piano sometimes, loves painting, skiing, biking, gaming, going to the movies, anime characters, Pokémon card trading/collecting, going to his brothers' baseball games and especially hanging out with family. He and his family love to Travel. Evan's favorite spots are Santa Cruz, Truckee, Pismo and Most Definitely catching a Dodgers Game. His favorite Dodgers baseball player is Chris Taylor. To accommodate his disabilities he has had to do online school but has excelled at it. All his teachers speak wonders of him and love him so much. Evan is such a joy to be around and has such an amazing personality! My sister Erika and Brother-in-law Jeremy were in the beginning stages of gathering more information with various procedures and scans for the next step in possible bladder reconstruction. The MRI showed something on his right pelvis (hip) so the doctor did more scans but by then Evan's oncologist in Roseville had contacted Erika and Jeremy. He confirmed the cancer diagnosis. Evan will start chemo treatment soon at Valley Children’s Hospital in Madera California. In order to be Evan's Full-time caretaker they had to decide that Jeremy should stop working. This will be a life-altering time for the whole family emotionally, physically, mentally, and financially. Evans full cancer journey could easily take more than 1 year. Please help them get through this nightmare with your support and relieve some of the financial strain off them. That way they can focus all of their love and time on Evan and the Battle ahead!

Thank you all for taking the time to read Evan's story.