James Madison University senior guard Dawn Evans is the nation’s leading scorer with a gaudy 25.3 ppg average. She also is battling a rare kidney disease called Focal Segmental Glomerularscierosis(FSGS) that disrupts the filtering system in her kidneys. Even at only 75% of her former energy level, Evans, who is listed at only 5‘7, is an inspiration, continually scoring over taller and thicker players, even with the debilitating disease that will one day require her to have a kidney transplant.
An article first ran on the front page of USA Today last week about Evans’ inspirational story which parallels former NBA great Alonzo Mourning, who also has FSGS. Mourning needed a kidney transplant in order to continue his NBA career, even enabling him to win an NBA title with the Miami Heat in 2006.. So there’s no surprise hearing that he is one of Evans biggest supporters.
She also has strong support from her family and especially boyfriend Josh Parker who is also a ball player for the Dayton Flyers. Even though he cannot be with her on a daily basis considering both teams’ scheduling conflicts, he calls her every day or even sometimes drives upwards of 6 hours to meet for a meal. Parker even wears a wrist band under his sock on one ankle in support of NephCure, which is a worldwide organization committed to funding research to move closer to a cure and educating the public about kidney disease.
Dawn has become an ambassador for the organization which has committed more than $6 million in funds towards research in recent years. NephCure also has an online community which allows others affected by kidney disease to communicate and comfort each-other. Please check out the NephCure website and register as a kidney donor or make a charitable donation to help fund research.
Evans was diagnosed with FSGS just prior to last season when she started having terrible headaches and frequent urination. After a doctor found abnormally high amounts of protein in her urine, a specialist diagnosed her with the incurable disease. By Evans’ own words, three words described her reaction to hearing the horrific news: “Shock, Fear, and Devastation.”
To her credit, she powers on, dominating Division I competition behind an amazing support system composed of her coaching staff, players, family, and especially Mourning, who speaks regularly to Evans through email.
Here’s a quote form Mourning:
“As an athlete you are used to overcoming everything, so it’s hard to hear you have something that has no cure. You just have to remain positive and overcome your doubts.”
Evans hopes to one day play in the WNBA and draws her inspiration from Mourning. I guess she figures that if he can do it, why not her?
You can check out the whole article on Dawn Evans and her inspirational story here.
Check out a video of Dawn’s struggle on and off of the court:
Allen Moll has been a lifelong NBA and NCAA College Basketball fan who watches and studies games religiously, and coaches youth basketball in his native Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania. Allen also provides content to Bleacherreport.com, Upperdeckblog.com, in addition to being a tenured NBA and NCAA columnist for TheHoopDoctors.com.
