BOZEMAN — Following a series of unexpected seizures, 11-year-old Sawyer Ewan from Bozeman is fighting for his life in Salt Lake City.
Meanwhile, his parents wait and pray for their son to recover.
“At times it just doesn’t even feel real; it feels like a dream,” said Aurelia Ewan.
“When no one has any answers — they’ve done every test, every medication — it’s a helpless feeling,” said Levi Ewan.
Aurelia and Levi describe their son Sawyer as a social butterfly who loves anything outdoors.
“He loves football, skiing, all his friends—he just started hockey this season and saved all his money to buy his hockey gear,” said Aurelia.
And he’s never had any seizures or neurological problems, until December 29, 2023.
“We had some friends over and the kids were all playing,” said Aurelia. “One of the boys came out and told me, ‘Sawyer is sleeping,’ and I thought, ‘What? Sawyer is never the first to fall asleep.'”
Aurelia checked on Sawyer, finding him slumped over in his bed. After she got him up and to the bathroom, she noticed something was extremely wrong.
“I grabbed my phone and called 911,” said Aurelia. “Right then, he had a full grand mal seizure, turned blue, and he wasn’t breathing.”
Sawyer was transported to the ER in Bozeman where he had more seizures. He was eventually airlifted to Salt Lake City.
Ever since Sawyer has been fighting for his life as doctors try to find out what’s causing the seizures.
“They can’t figure out what is causing them and they can’t figure out how to stop them,” said Aurelia.
Because of this, Sawyer remains in a medically induced coma.
Aurelia and Levi say all they want is to have their son back.
“I want to see his eyes, and hear his laugh, and have him hold me,” said Aurelia. “He was just getting big enough to where I could lay my head on his chest. I want to watch him play hockey, go on his first date, get married—I want him to live his life.”
But as Sawyer’s fight continues, Aurelia and Levi say the outpouring of love from the community is playing a huge part in keeping spirits high.
“It gives me energy and focus to keep pushing,” said Aurelia, “and I’m going to read every letter that everyone has sent.”
Through a GoFundMe campaign, more than $52,000 has already been raised for medical expenses.
“Everything that everyone is doing, I don’t even have the words to say thank you,” said Aurelia. “It’s overwhelming, all those prayers going up mean so much to us. Just send him all the strength you have.”
