Hi everyone,

We're reaching out today with a heavy heart, but also with immense hope for our sweet son, River Valentine Martin, who was born on December 16, 2025. Since his arrival, our world has revolved around his critical medical needs, specifically two severe heart defects: Truncus Arteriosus and a Univentricular Heart.

We’ve been living at the University of Minnesota Children's Hospital in Minneapolis since his birth, by his side every moment. On February 3rd, River Valentine faced a terrifying cardiac arrest while on the medical/surgical floor, and he has since been back in the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (CVICU). His little body is fighting so incredibly hard, and we're committed to staying right here with him for the foreseeable future.

This unexpected journey has brought significant challenges beyond the medical ones. With River Valentine's constant need for care, we currently have no income, and unfortunately, we don't qualify for the new paid leave law. While the hospital social workers have been incredibly kind, providing gas cards and cafeteria passes, we're now in urgent need of more comprehensive support as we await other forms of financial assistance to come through.

Our family home is in Fergus Falls, and we're trying our best to maintain it while we're here. However, we're also facing the difficult reality that we may need to consider moving closer to Minneapolis to be near River Valentine's specialized care long-term.

We've been fortunate to receive some assistance through a program that's been covering our major bills, but that support ends next month, at the end of March. We're honestly unsure of what we'll do financially after that. To add to our challenges, we don't have a vehicle of our own right now and are hoping for a car care program to come through, which would be a huge help with transportation.

We're also on the waiting list for the Ronald McDonald House, hoping to secure a place to stay that's closer to River Valentine and offers some stability.

Your support, no matter how small, would mean the world to us during this incredibly difficult time. It would help us cover basic living expenses, maintain our household, stay near River Valentine without added financial strain, and allow us to focus all our energy on his recovery.

Thank you for taking the time to read our story and for any help you can offer. Please keep our little fighter, River Valentine, in your thoughts.

With heartfelt gratitude,

The Martin Family