Read to Meet a Need: Anderson Family Fundraiser

The Story

On Sunday, July 24th, our 7-year-old nephew, Arlyn, was taken to the local ER because he had a fever and looked jaundiced. Within 24 hours, he was airlifted 5 hours away to the children’s hospital in Minneapolis due to the doctors being very concerned about his liver function.

Over the next 2 weeks, Arlyn’s labwork continued to trend downward towards full liver failure. He was placed on the liver transplant list. The infectious disease team is still searching for a cause but has not found an answer. Without knowing what was causing his liver to fail, doctors were unsure of how to cure him. A whole liver transplant was their best chance at a cure. Arlyn received a new liver on August 11th. The doctors were able to do a rare auxiliary procedure, by attaching his new liver with his native liver still intact. The idea is that his old liver will regenerate itself so that at a future date they might be able to remove the new liver when his body can once again resume normal functioning on its own. This is a best case scenario and what we are praying will occur.

As if this were not enough for one family to go through, Arlyn’s mother was 39 weeks pregnant with their third child (Arlyn has a 10-year-old sister, Aleksia), when he was admitted to the hospital. Erica delivered a healthy baby girl via c-section on August 6th on one floor in the hospital, while Arlyn’s father, Neal, sat by his son’s side in PICU on another floor.

God has been good. He has allowed members of the extended family the opportunity to travel to Minneapolis to provide support during such a difficult time. He has also provided lodging and food and other means of support through the wider church. However, the medical bills will be an immense burden for the Anderson family. This burden is exacerbated by lost income from lack of work, other household bills needing to be paid, and by the fact that the hospital is 4 hours away from their home. The Andersons have been directed by doctors to expect months in and around the hospital as Arlyn heals from the transplant. We are humbly asking that you give as God leads to help sustain this family. They now wait for a liver on the transplant list and hope and trust for healing for Arlyn.

How Can You Help?

This Thursday, August 25-26, I will be hosting an Usborne Books & More Fundraiser. All proceeds from this event will go to the Anderson Family. If you haven’t heard of it before, Usborne Books & More is a well-known publishing company that carries some of our favorite books! There are books available for babies through adult so there is something for every age and interest. They are also high quality and educational! What better time to stock up your home library than back-to-school?

I appreciate your patience with me as I know so many people receive invites regularly for parties and such online, and tend to get annoyed with them. I just know that this is something I can do that will benefit the family as well as you! We are praying that the Lord will provide where He knows it is needed. God has been so good even though Aryln is very touch-and-go from day to day. The doctors have said it would be months before he could even go back home in a good scenario. This has been a huge adjustment for the family, and they have lost a lot of income being out of town and the inability to work. Their situation is heavy on my heart and if you feel led I would appreciate your prayers and participation. Thank you for your consideration.

The Event

This won’t be just any online party. This is a Mystery Hostess party which means one lucky winner will win ALL of the hostess rewards AND there will be other FREE books given away as well to those who attend and participate. No purchase is necessary to win, just your attendance is required to be entered. I know this will be so much fun!

How does a Facebook party work? If you are on Facebook you will just join the event link below. Make sure to mark your invite as “going” on the event page in order to receive notifications to keep you involved. You can browse through the event, and if you choose to purchase any books for the children in your life (your kids, nieces, nephews, grandchildren, birthday gifts, Christmas, etc.) all the proceeds will go straight to the Anderson family. You can join this online fundraiser event on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/events/163055327459595/

Help to Get the Word Out!

Please share our event with your family and friends! They can participate easily by going to the following shopping if they are interested. https://j4790.myubam.com/119826

Have a question or need help looking around for something in particular? Feel free to contact me at [email protected] or send me a message on our Facebook page.

If you would prefer to give a direct donation and to also keep up with our updates concerning Arlyn’s ongoing medical care and progress, you can see those here: https://www.youcaring.com/neal-and-erica-anderson-619739

Thank you for your ongoing thoughts and prayers for their family during this difficult time. If you would like to support in this way you can join our fundraising event at the link below, and please, feel free to share it with your friends. The more the merrier!

Join the Usborne Books & More Fundraiser: https://www.facebook.com/events/163055327459595/

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Lindsey

I am a wife to a wonderful husband and mother to four beautiful children five and under: three girls and one boy. I am a disciple of Christ and I am fulfilling my role to my husband and family as a homemaker. I began The Road to 31 almost two years ago in an effort to focus more as I studied the Word of God and researched those things which were important to me. I found that God used The Road to 31 within my own life to bring community to my front door and allowed me to minister and be ministered to by other women who are walking along the same road as I.