Issue link: http://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/264358
chofsa.org 4 en Steps The big day had come. It was February 2010, and Allison and her husband, Matt, traveled to a local hospital for her planned C-section, eager to meet their new child. "We were so excited because we had planned everything ahead of time, and the only surprise we were expecting was the gender," Allison says. "That's when God stepped in and said, 'You can't plan everything.'" Evan arrived a seemingly healthy baby boy — but within a few hours, Allison and Matt realized something wasn't right. "Matt went to watch the nurses give Evan a bath, and he came back and said, 'I don't want to worry you, but his oxygen levels aren't great,'" Allison recalls. "He came back a second time and said a cardiologist was looking at Evan. The third time he came back, two doctors were with him. That's when I knew something was really wrong." BRACING FOR THE WORST Evan was diagnosed with a rare congenital heart defect known as transposition of the great arteries. The hospital they had chosen for his birth wasn't equipped to treat the defect, so Evan was transferred to CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Children's Hospital, now the Children's Hospital of San Antonio. "They actually came and transported Evan themselves, which I thought was incredible," Allison says. "The transporters came into the room, and I immediately felt a sense of safety. They knew what they were doing and that everything was under control." ROYAL TREATMENT When Allison and Matt arrived at the Children's Hospital of San Antonio, they immediately noticed a difference. "I walked in the door, and they said, 'You must be Evan's mom. Let's get you a wheelchair. Do you need some water? We'll get you water,'" Allison says. "They anticipated our every need. They even let us sleep in the intensive care unit where Evan was. They got us shampoo, towels, pillows, and blankets. The entire staff treated us like we were family." On Thursday, two days after Evan was born, Allison and Matt met with the surgeons who would be operating on Evan the following morning. They explained everything and answered all the worried couple's questions. Allison and Matt also met with child life specialists at When Allison Hajda had her second child, she was expecting a normal, healthy baby. What she got was a miracle.