Together for Ms. Evalee: Honoring A’Kio’s Memory

At the end of a wonderful Mother’s Day, spent with her husband Mikale and her four-year-old son A’Kio, Evalee and Mikale did what most parents do every day. They went to make A’Kio his favorite dinner while he stayed in his room to play. As they were preparing his meal, all of a sudden they heard an extremely loud thud and ran to see what it was. What they found when they walked in, was every parent’s nightmare. A’Kio’s dresser had fallen on top of him.

As a preschool teacher at The Playhouse Academy, Evalee’s instincts took over and her emergency training immediately flew into action, and she began CPR.

Despite the efforts from his mom, first responders and the amazing staff at Cook Children’s, A’Kio did not survive.

Mother’s Day had turned into a nightmare, one that Evalee and her husband Mikale will never wake up from.

As it turns out, A’Kio saw one of his favorite toys on a shelf, and was trying to get to it. He tried to climb up his dresser to get to it. One of the drawers he grabbed came rolling out, and gravity took its course.

While this is so recent, and they are in a state of shock and grief, Evalee and Mikale wanted to share A’Kio’s story. Their message to parents is that although bolting dressers and other furniture to the wall may seem like an “overly cautious” or “unnecessary” step in your home, it could save your child’s life. Every parent can relate to their child climbing up their dresser, or pulling on a drawer. The hope in telling their story is that they can prevent another senseless tragedy.

Ms. Evalee and her family were already planning to move back to New York this summer. The loss of their son on Mother’s Day has expedited their need to move. They are planning his service to be held in New York, where they are from and where their families are.

Our goal as a school, staff and community is to ease the monetary burden that this will bring. No one plans for this situation, and their needs will be abundant. We know Ms. Evalee has loved, cared for, and touched many hearts in her time here in Fort Worth. For anyone who feels moved to help this family, we have created a GoFundMe page to help transport A’Kio to New York, help with the service, and other needs they will encounter.

—— Darcy Miller, Lauren Moses, Paige Hayes