Manitowoc County boy, 6, with rare blood disorder launches toy drive for Children's Wisconsin. Here's how you can help.
FRANCIS CREEK – Santa has a special request for you this year.
He’ll be stopping by Wagner’s Country Diner, 106 S. Packer Drive in Francis Creek Dec. 18 for a special breakfast. He will meet with children and customers, and also collect toys to donate to Children’s Wisconsin hospital in Milwaukee.
Sisters Haley and Elizabeth Wagner, who co-own the small-town diner, want to help the Jolly Old Man out after Haley’s 6-year-old son, Evan Whittaker, spent more than a month at Children’s this fall.
“We are just so grateful for everything they’ve done,” Elizabeth said.
Evan was your typical, active and adventurous boy attending first grade.
Then, a viral infection led him to a hospital emergency room in Green Bay. Doctors said he needed a blood transfusion and he was in the late stages of kidney failure.
Little Evan was given a stuffed teddy bear and told to take care of “Stuffie” as an ambulance rushed him to Children’s in Milwaukee.
He was diagnosed with a very rare genetic disorder — HUS, or hemolytic uremic syndrome. HUS affects about 1 out of 2 million people in the U.S. and affects the kidneys and blood clotting system. Evan’s is even rarer than the typical HUS as it was triggered by a viral infection, while most come from a bacteria infection.
The hospital began kidney dialysis. Doctors told the family Evan might need a new kidney. They gave him a new medication through an IV and his kidneys are functioning now. HUV gives him extremely high blood pressure and he’s on two medications to keep it under control.
The little boy spent about a month in the hospital, coming home right before Thanksgiving.
“He finally seems to have the energy to play and seems more like the old Evan,” Elizabeth said. “He just had his first day back at school.”
While a patient at the hospital, Evan received a new toy after every procedure or needle and IV puncture.
“We couldn’t believe all the toys he was given,” Elizabeth said. “It took us two trips to get them all home.”
Evan asked his mom where all the toys came from.
“We explained to him that they were donated, and he wanted to donate toys,” his aunt said. “We said we could do a toy drive.”
Donations of new toys, DVDs and batteries can be taken to Wagner’s. The restaurant is open 6-11 a.m. Wednesdays through Sundays and closed Mondays and Tuesdays.
The family will deliver the toys to the hospital when they head down for Evan’s next appointment, a few days before Christmas. He has four more IV treatments to go.
Elizabeth said the family was thrilled to have Evan home for Thanksgiving.
“Things were really scary and stressful at first,” she said. “We kept telling him we’d have him home for a holiday. We say Thanksgiving or Christmas because we didn’t know.”
Haley spent every day with Evan when he was at Children’s. Elizabeth worked at the restaurant and then rushed to be with them. Evan has two younger siblings who weren’t allowed into the hospital because of a national outbreak of RSV, a respiratory illness that severely affects children.
“We did a lot of FaceTiming,” Elizabeth said.
The sisters made the decision to limit the restaurant’s hours to accommodate Evan’s care. They stopped serving lunch and dinner, and Elizabeth said they thought they might have to shut down.
“Our family really stepped up to help,” she said. “Especially my aunts. They’re in their 70s, but they jumped right in. Our employees also are great.”
The small-town diner is in an old bank building with a homey feeling. Elizabeth worries their regular lunch customers don’t have a place to eat.
There’s such a community feel that friends, family and even customers helped out to keep the doors open.
“We absolutely could not have done it without them,” Elizabeth said. “What a gift.”
As for gifts, it’s a pretty sure bet Evan will ask Santa for something related to dinosaurs.
“He’s obsessed with dinosaurs,” Elizabeth said with a laugh. “He has dinosaur pajamas, dinosaur slippers, dinosaur everything. If you show him a dinosaur, he will know what kind it is and how to pronounce the name. Everyone called him Dinosaur Boy at the hospital.”
Contact reporter Patti Zarling at pzarling@gannett.com or call 920-606-2586. Follow her on Twitter @PGPattiZarling.
This article originally appeared on Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter: Manitowoc County boy leads toy drive for Children's Wisconsin hospital
