There was little warning that anything was wrong with 9-year-old Evan Jurgensen on that spring day in 2016.

His parents — Aaron, an Austin native, and his wife Christine, Aaron’s college sweetheart — were off to the Bahamas on a free trip, won by Aaron through his work at Timberhorn IT Solutions. The Jurgensens live in Frisco, Texas, just north of Dallas.

Evan and his sister, Lauren, were being taken care of by Aaron’s sister, Jessica, who lives in Dallas.

Suddenly, Evan — a dark-haired, smiling imp of a boy — inexplicably began to spike a fever that quickly climbed to 105.3, said his grandfather, Craig Jurgensen of Austin.

“Jessica got him to the hospital, and decisions had to be made in a matter of minutes,” he said. “They almost immediately identified what it was. Doctors said, ‘He needs a blood transfusion now -— not two hours from now, not an hour from now, right now. If he doesn’t get it right now, he’s going to die.’”

Aaron and Christine were located. They began a frantic effort to get a flight back home as quickly as possible.

It was as chilling a diagnosis as any parent could hear: Evan had biphenotypic leukemia, a rare form of cancer that is a combination of two different acute types of leukemia —  acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).

Doctors began chemotherapy and then Evan had a bone marrow transplant in November 2016.

Evan responded well after his first transplant, until the leukemia came back in August, this time more aggressively than before, Jurgensen said. Last week, Evan had his second bone marrow transplant.

Craig Jurgensen relayed Evan’s story with equal parts dignity and intelligence, only breaking down when asked how Evan has responded to his hospitalizations.

“That little boy has more grit than 10 men I know,” said his grandfather, his voice faltering. “He doesn’t give up.”

In fact, caregivers at Children’s Health in Dallas have watched the young boy seek out the dying or the scared children, to offer comfort and support.

Now, support is being sought for Evan and his family. Since his hospitalizations, at least one of his parents have been in his room each day, Jurgensen said. He said each of the transplants have each cost over $1 million, and any donation would be appreciated.

The Austin Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1216 will hold a benefit for Evan from noon to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 2 at the club rooms at 300 Fourth Ave. NE.

Dec. 2 chili feed to help family

The Austin Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1216 will hold a chili feed benefit for Evan from noon to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 2 at the club rooms at 300 Fourth Ave. NE in Austin.

There will also be a bake sale from 4:30-7:30 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 1, which will also continue on Dec. 2 during the chili feed.

A free will donation of $6 is suggested.