Miracle girl battles rare disease

Little Evelyn was only three months old and battling a big disease when we first introduced you to the Haggartys in August of 2022.

Wolman’s Disease stops the body from producing an enzyme crucial for breaking down fat and cholesterol.

Wolman’s Disease is rare; you probably never heard of it, and it’s fatal.

“The doctor said, ‘You know, I don’t see her living past a year,’ said Megan Haggarty, Evelyn’s mother.

Evelyn made it past a year and will make it to Christmas and New Year’s Day as well.

She’s a happy girl and loves being a big sister to her brother, Roman.

“They’ve been inseparable since he was born,” said Megan Haggarty. “She always wakes up, and she’s like Bubba, Bubba, where’s Bubba? She has to give him a hug, and she just she loves her brother, and he always lights up around her, too.”

These are the nice moments, but there’s tough ones.

Once a week, every week, Evelyn’s family takes her to St. Joseph Hospital in Tampa for life-sustaining enzyme replacement infusions.

“When I say she is known there, like literally, she goes to every staff meeting with the nurses, and all of the nurses try and take turns because she’s like one of the nurses there. Literally, she is one of the team almost,” said Dylan Haggarty, Evelyn’s father.

Despite the incredible odds, Evelyn’s standing, learning to walk, on her way to eating food, and now she can take a bath!

“She had a central line in, and so she couldn’t get wet for the first year and a half of her life basically. So, she never was able to have a bath. She had like a sponge bath, and so, that’s something that I feel like a lot of people take for granted. It’s like, oh, I have to give my kid a bath, and we’re just like, so excited every time to get back,” Megan said.

Mom and Dad give thanks to God for every day they have with their precious gift.

“I mean, we wouldn’t be, I feel like where we are today if we didn’t have the Lord. We wouldn’t be celebrating a second Christmas. I truly believe in my heart,” Dylan said.

The Haggarty’s told me their faith, often tested, gets them through every day.

“Everything that we say is a struggle we do with joy, and we’re, we’re blessed to even be able to do it. Like, we just say it’s a struggle because it’s something that most people wouldn’t have to deal with,” Dylan said.

Evelyn’s smile makes it all worth it.

That’s why they wanted to tell her story. To let everyone watching see her joy.

“If you witnessed a literal miracle happen, how would you act? Would you not tell everyone you run into that you witnessed a miracle? Because that’s what I’ve witnessed,” Dylan said.

Now, the Haggarty’s said you are witnesses too.