The littlest Ninja

For those who haven’t met the dynamic duo of Emma and Easton, there’s one word that truly sums them up: resilient. Their strength in the face of many adversities is not only admirable, but inspiring. Easton’s nickname to the family is the “Littlest Ninja,” which is adopted from Easton’s late Grandpa Dan, who passed away from cancer in 2014. While undergoing treatment, the idea was that the chemo acted like “ninjas” fighting the disease. Throughout his tough battle, Easton’s Grandpa Dan and the rest of the McClure family coined the “DM Ninjas” as a sign of hope and perseverance, and they use it as a continual reminder to always be strong.  


Easton was born in December 2017 at 36 weeks, described by his momma as “small but strong.” By the time Easton was two months old, something didn’t seem right, and it turned out Easton wasn’t gaining weight due to his inability to take in and digest food properly. Beginning in February 2018, Emma and Easton have been frequent flyers with the ER, Children's Hospital Minneapolis and the University of Minnesota Masonic Children's Hospital, not to mention the various hospital stays at Grand Itasca in Grand Rapids and St. Mary’s in Duluth. Mileage for a typical round trip to the U of M Masonic Children’s Hospital (where Easton’s specialty care team is located) is about 400 miles. Among feeding tubes, constant weigh-ins, and PICC line infections, these two have overcome many obstacles in a short amount of time. For more detail about their journey, Emma regularly updates her blog at ejmcclure.wixsite.com.


The constant worry of not knowing when the next health emergency will occur is enough to handle for any new mom. Emma has an amazing support system of family and friends, but unfortunately as we all know, love and support cannot be directly translated into the paying of medical bills. Easton’s daily medical cares are extensive. No daycare facilities in the area can accommodate his needs, not to mention his extremely fragile immune system making him susceptible to infection when exposed to other small children. In addition to being a single mom, Emma is a full-time student pursuing her bachelor’s degree online, working hard to invest in Easton’s and her future. They receive no financial assistance or child support which makes finances very tight


Our goal is to raise enough money to help Emma afford a down payment on a car that will be reliable to get them where they need to go on a moment’s notice- most recently, to the ER and to the University of Minnesota Children’s Masonic Hospital in the Twin Cities. The amount of this goal is $5,000.


Anything helps! Many people have asked, “What can we do to help?” This is it! Let’s rally behind “Momma Ninja” Emma and her smiley, adorable “Littlest Ninja” Easton to do what we can. Grow Easton Grow!


**If you are unable to help financially, prayer and words of encouragement are ALWAYS welcome! Also, as Emma posted in her blog, Easton loves songs and videos! If you want to send them a video of you singing songs from Moana or nursery rhymes (The Itsy Bitsy Spider is Easton’s jam) you can post on Facebook and tag Emma or send them to her via the contact info on the blog!