PHOENIX — Evelyn Lay loves spending time outside! But for this Valley 7-year-old girl, climbing trees and playing with friends outside can be dangerous.
"She's the most active child. She wants to be outside. She doesn't want to be sitting on a computer all day. She wants to be outside playing and all we could say was 'nope, inside,'" said Evelyn's mom, Nikki Lay.
Her family's journey to figure out why Evelyn always had the sniffles paved the way to a long-term, personalized treatment plan for severe allergies at Phoenix Children's hospital.
The treatment is working.
"She's down to half the meds that she used to have to take. She doesn't have to do rescue inhalers anymore. It's phenomenal. It's only been nine months. She's got to do it until she's 11," said Nikki.
Evelyn says she feels lucky, knowing better days are coming because the allergy shots are painful.
"The pinch is like, they call the little ones like puppy bites. I think, like puppy pinches, and they call the bigger ones angel pinches. I do a mix between those. So, maybe a big dog pinch" said Evelyn describing her treatments.
For her mom, it’s the Child Life program at Phoenix Children's that helps kids and families discover ways to cope with fear.
"Evelyn used to hide every time the nurses came out. So, they would play a game and then the nurse started hiding and they turned this into a game," said Nikki.
With more than three years of allergy treatments ahead of her, Evelyn isn't out of the woods quite yet, but her mom says her quality of life is getting better and that makes going to Phoenix Children's easier.
"There's... there's care. There's love and that makes all the difference," added Nikki.
You can help make miracles happen, too.
On Wednesday, April 10 ABC15 is hosting its annual telethon benefiting Phoenix Children's hospital from 6 a.m. to 10:35 p.m.
We will be taking phone calls for donations. You can also donate anytime by calling (602) 933-4567.
