Louisa and Donavon: ❤️ and School

Many of you know that the Minnaars adopted Donavon and Kelvin 5 years ago (you can guess who they are in photo!) and then their youngest, Louisa, was born with a complex congenital heart defect called Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome 2 years ago. She had 2 open-heart surgeries within her first 4 months of life and is scheduled to have a third on April 18. Donavon and Kelvin have had increasingly more concerning and difficult behaviors at home over the last couple years. It's become clear that Donavon needs some more intensive help and support.

You can imagine the chaos of a "normal" family of 9, but adding the boys' issues and Louisa's health concerns has made life really difficult. The Minnaars have sought all kinds of support from their church family, the school system, the medical and mental health communities and while they have received much needed relief, Donavon's issues have continued to escalate. It's become clear that he needs more intense supervision and discipleship, and the rest of the family needs to feel safe again and have some rest.

The Minnaars searched for a residential program that specializes in adoption and attachment issues like Donavon's. They applied to a number of programs and were turned down by a few due to his difficult issues. Many programs can average $10,000-$15,000/month, but they found an amazing one in Missouri that costs $3000/month. It usually lasts 12-18 months on average and he will be starting the program in early March. They hope to use savings and their adoption subsidy to offset some of the cost, but that won't be enough to cover everything. They also hope to maintain close contact with Donavon as they continue to mend their relationship and bring healing to their family. There will be travel-related costs throughout the next year related to this.

Louisa's third open-heart surgery will be in April. At best, she'll be hospitalized in Ann Arbor for a couple weeks, but potentially longer. The other kids will be staying with family at home, while Nick and Carissa are in the hospital with Louisa and traveling back and forth between Ann Arbor and home.

They'd love to SHARE their story with you. You can read more about it on their blog;

The Minnaar's Blog

They'd also love for you to be a PART of their story. They are confident that "My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." (Psalm 73:26). Please pray for them and consider funding Louisa's fight for more heartbeats and Donavon's fight for joy!