Natasha Wagner is glad she only found out how close her daughter came to death after she was out of the woods.
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In March last year Evie, who was six at the time, suffered a number of nose bleeds, went off her food and said she didn't want to go to school because she felt ill.
Mrs Wagner, a mother of seven, put it down to the usual complaints children have.
"She was a normal, healthy girl," she said.
Mrs Wagner had a 10-day trip to India planned to speak at a women's economic forum.
What should have been the trip of a lifetime - as it was her first time overseas - quickly became a nightmare.
On Friday, Mrs Wagner's daughter Stephanie messaged her to tell her that Evie was unwell. "She turned yellow overnight," Mrs Wagner said.
Stephanie took her sister to the Camperdown Hospital.
She was transferred to South West Healthcare's Warrnambool Base Hospital and when blood tests revealed her liver wasn't functioning correctly, she was rushed to the Royal Children's Hospital.
Mrs Wagner was desperately trying to get a flight home.
When she arrived at the hospital the following Wednesday, she was taken aback by how ill her daughter was.
"I thought I would get home to a bubbly, happy Evie," she said. "But that wasn't the case."
Evie's stomach was incredibly swollen and she was yellow.
She was taken to the intensive care unit a number of times and doctors discovered she had a rare genetic condition - Wilson's disease - a disorder in which excess copper builds up in the body.
Doctors told Mrs Wagner and her husband Erich their daughter needed a liver transplant.
Even then, the gravity of the situation didn't hit home to Mrs Wagner, a former nurse.
That night - when Evie was listed as a person in desperate need of a liver transplant - there were four available.
Three were deemed unsuitable but in what Mrs Wagner will always believe is a miracle - Evie was a match for the fourth.
Not only that - she was given part of the liver while a second person was given the remaining part of it.
The person who donated the liver gave not one but two people a second chance at life.
Mrs Wagner said she was shocked when doctors told her that Evie would have only had 24 to 48 hours to live if she hadn't had the transplant.
Evie is now a happy and healthy seven-year-old girl who loves dancing, animals and spending time with her best friend Aliviah Shadforth at St Patrick's Primary School in Camperdown.
She is also a volunteer with DonateLife - raising awareness about the importance of donating organs.
Mrs Wagner encouraged people to have a conversation with their family about giving someone the gift of life.
She also said the family had been overwhelmed by the generosity of Evie's school during the ordeal.
"The school has been amazing and we are very grateful for all they have done for our family," Mrs Wagner said.
You can register here to become a donor.
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