Evan Harrison Newport~ Feb 5, 2002 – Nov 27, 2009
December 2nd, 2009 by Jen Hen under Farewell for Now. No Comments.
I have been working to gather my thoughts for the past four days before attempting to write this entry. Unfortunately I’m afraid I’ve made no real progress in the thinking part. Instead I am going to post what I entered on Facebook as a note along with the links to several webpages that will help you get acquainted with Evan’s story. I would like to first add a link to this video which was put together by a friend of Scott and Penni’s, Everett Marshall. The video was put together beautifully.
Information on Evan’s Homecoming Celebration Service scheduled for this coming Saturday.
Posted on Friday, November 27th, 2009
Just yesterday, my sister, Mom, and I were sitting at the kitchen table after eating our Thanksgiving lunch and talking about little Evan. Emily and I were talking about how amazing it was that little Evan had survived for so long with his medical conditions. When Evan was born, he spent his first 10 months of life in the children’s hospital at The University of Michigan. The prognosis was not in favor of him seeing his 1st birthday. However, Evan had a strong will to live and was eventually permitted to go home. Penni and Scott turned their dining room into a special room for Evan and all of the equipment he required. They had a nurse with them 24 hours a day to assist in various tasks. On numerous occasions they would have to rush Evan to the hospital where he would remain for weeks to months at a time, being told that “now is the time to say good-bye.” But, Evan kept fighting strong. The strength that my cousin and her husband found to face each day amazed me. I remember going to visit them in 2003 and every question I asked Penni about them and their day to day, was responded to with a short and frank answer laced with faith in God, and then a diversion to questions about my life. This morning though, the fight in Evan has ended, and it is his time to no longer be an Angel on Earth. His work is done in the flesh, and he is now in Heaven with an awesome God who watched over Evan for 7 years and 9 months and 23 days on Earth.
Following are several links to various news stories about Evan, Scott, Noah, and Penni Newport. You can read through them and learn about part of the journey they have taken.
Please pray for their family as they say “good-bye for now.”
Their visit to the nation’s capital and President Bush.
This year’s 10K run in Ann Arbor.
Scott’s therapy while dealing with Evan’s illness.
More on Scott’s woodworking.
