PHOENIX — The widow of a Phoenix man who died tragically while hiking with a group near Cave Creek earlier this week to share a message with others about the importance of heat safety.
Originally from Oregon, Dishion came to Phoenix to pursue his medical dream at Barrow Neurological Institute.
"He was really healthy," Amy Dishion said. "He was at the top of his game, he had just run a marathon."
A husband, son, and devoted father, Evan Dishion was the light of his wife's life.
"He sat next to me in a math study skills class," she said. "We became study partners and we just started hanging out from there. And six months later, we started dating and it's been awesome ever since. He was reserved, and very cute and once we got to know each other better, he just, it was just something about him that the energy was right,"
The couple has a three-month-old daughter, who was everything to Evan. We asked Amy what she sees when she looks at her little one.
"I see him," she said. "I see Evan. And I see a piece of him I'll always have with me. And I see a blessing he got to experience before he left to go on his next adventure."
But on Monday, everything changed.
"It's my understanding in speaking with the hospital he was dead on arrival," she said.
Evan and his five friends had left first thing in the morning to hike near Cave Creek. The group began their trek when one wasn't feeling right and stayed behind. Several others continued on, including Evan.
"I learned that when they hit the summit, Evan specifically was saying we shouldn't stay here long, we should turn around now," Amy said.
Which they did. However, at some point during their journey, they ran out of water and into trouble. Some other members of the group also began feeling sick.
"And Evan said we need to call 911," Amy said. "He said this is bad, this is serious, so they were trying to get service and then Evan started to feel bad. At some point, he lost consciousness. And this whole time I was sitting at home, waiting. And I was just so worried. I was calling him over and over."
Evan, Amy says, went into cardiac arrest and died. Now, with their daughter, she's trying to figure out life without him.
"We always had each other's back," she recalled. "And then giving him a daughter was like amazing."
With his wedding band now on a chain worn around her neck, she's doing what she can to keep all the memories close to her heart. Which gives her a bit of comfort, during this extremely difficult time.
"I think about the life we had," she said. "We were very lucky because we loved each other a lot."
She also wants others to know, that if it could happen to Evan, it could happen to anyone. Which is why she's telling others to be careful and not risk it.
"I want people to know that it can happen to you," she said. "It absolutely can. You never know if it can happen to someone like Evan who had no health concerns, he was fit, young, he was a medical professional. If it can happen to him it can happen to anyone. This is real, my husband left me and my baby behind to go on a hike. He loved his medical career, he had a bright future ahead of him, it's all gone now."
She also says he wanted to become an attending, but unfortunately will never get the chance.
"He fell in love with Arizona, he loved the mountains," she said. "You don't want to feel the despair that I feel."
If you'd like to help the family, a GoFundMe has been set up for their 3-month-old daughter, here.
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