Urgent Help Needed for DeCuir Family
UPDATE: Here are some other ways to give:
Venmo: drew-DeCuir (last 4 digits: 5576)
Cash app: $drewdecuir116
PayPal: @leasaniemond ([email redacted])
My name is Mallory Crawford and I have started this fundraiser on behalf of our precious friends, the Decuir Family, who are in desperate need of help.
I met Leasa last year when our sons were in the same special education class.
Drew and Leasa served as missionaries in Papua New Guinea for several years with their 3 oldest children, Malakai, Lottie, and Haddon. They came back to the states two years ago just to have a baby and then head right back “home”. They planned to only be back a few short months. But they were never able to return. At 8 weeks old their beautiful healthy baby suffered a medical complication that hospitalized her for nearly a month. It was very traumatic. She came home on a gtube and was struggling to thrive and develop. During this time, their son Haddon began showing increasing developmental delays. They were assured it was “just a speech delay” by many specialists. But slowly it proved otherwise. After countless visits, testing and evaluations, they discovered that Haddon suffered a brain injury after a freak accident shortly after birth that caused him to be without oxygen for too long. They obviously knew about this incident as he was rushed by ambulance to the hospital but they left hours later thinking all was well and then moved on with life and moved overseas. They had no idea what had just happened to Haddon, sadly it was missed by doctors, but it was devastating and would slowly unfold like a slow motion nightmare over the next few years.
Once Leasa and Drew discovered the severity of Haddon's condition, they made the painfully difficult but necessary decision to not go back to Papua New Guinea. The home and life they left on pause with a “be right back”, never saying goodbye or getting closure, it was all just over. And an incredibly challenging life with a special needs child was before them instead.
Shortly after this decision was made, the family started to experience horrible, unexplained health issues. They thought it was just stress or ptsd. But it manifested into much much more. After multiple doctors and lots of tests, they finally determined the cause was toxic mold that was abundantly present in the home they were renting. They were forced to get rid of nearly every item they owned (much of which had been kindly and generously donated to them when they returned off the field. furniture, books, games, shoes, toys, EVERYTHING. They had to start completely over in a new rental property. They paid high rent but didn’t care and sacrificed in other areas, because they HAD to be somewhere safe and clean and new.
And then...the symptoms started to return. They assured themselves there was NO WAY and it was just PTSD and them being paranoid. But after hearing sizzling in the kitchen one da, Leasa opened the cabinet under the sink to see water pouring in and through the outlet. The sink had been leaking water into the wall floor under it for possibly years. To their complete shock and utter dismay, they yet again discovered toxic mold in their new rental as a handyman started ripping it out, sending mold spores everywhere. Mold Pathology confirmed it but unfortunately, the landlord is not wanting to properly correct the issue. So, they are now living temporarily in a friend's home for the summer.
They are desperately looking for a place to live that is safe and clean and within their budget, which has so far been near impossible to find. (If you know or something, or have resources to make this happen, please reach out!)
In a college town full of transient people where every year a new person owns or rents a house, and with demand so high that landlords and owners have zero accountability to remediate water damage, it’s created a crisis city wide. Even “nice” homes in good neighborhoods are not immune. And their bodies are so sick and fragile after multiple exposures, they cannot safely live through another water damaged house.
Recently, due to the toxic mold exposure, Haddon started having seizure activity along with his sensory system has been devastated. Mercy is showing concerning renal/kidney issues which could become lifelong. They pursued testing and their bodies are full of mold, parasites, and heavy metals. All because their bodies natural detoxification systems have almost totally stopped as they are clogged with toxins. Your body should be able to tolerate some toxins or a parasite, but theirs cannot. Their bodies have stopped detoxing on their own. Leasa suffers from some loss of function on one half of her body, loss of function in her hands some days, neuropathy (from touching and cleaning toxic mold the first time she found it, unaware of what it was or what she had just handled) and CIRS. Even common things like household candles or allergens send her body spiraling in histamine intolerance. Someone who was once so strong and loved her life in a remote third world country has been reduced to hardly being functional. Drew has had muscle pain, blurry vision/feeling like he’s blinking sawdust, brain fog, fatigue, and more. The other kids are also showing brutal symptoms and missed lots of school this last part of the year. From night sweats to vertigo to chronic infections and panic attacks and insomnia- Blurry vision, intense muscle and joint pain and so much more…Mold and toxins have overwhelmed all of their little bodies.
Since the DeCuirs are a missionary family, they rely completely on raising support for their finances. Understandably, they lost many supporters when they made the difficult decision to not return to Papua New Guinea. They are now serving in a state side role doing missions mobilization. Recruiting others who CAN go, to go in their place and reach the unreached. Their plan this summer was to support raise for their new ministry roles. But now they are hardly able to. As a result of this change in ministry, they have been living in a financial deficit for many months, and their expenses are increasing as their medical needs increase. The horrible physical side effects caused by the toxic mold require treatment that is very expensive and isn't covered under insurance. One neuro-intensive (which at least Haddon and Leasa need) is $6,000 each. Blood work, other labs, Supplements, medications, treatments and doctor appointments for just one person will be thousands of dollars. Multiple that times 6. On top of that, the vehicles they drive were donated to them by friends when they first came back to the states, and were only meant to be driven for 6 months, since they thought they'd be returning to the mission field. So not only do they not have a safe home to live in, they also only have one reliable vehicle.
This family has experienced blow after blow the last few years, and they are feeling completely and utterly devastated. I am asking for your help! They need a miracle, and YOU could be that miracle! Please - anything you have to give would be a major blessing for them! They are seriously the sweetest family I know! Won't you please help them?
The finances raised will go toward medical expenses, medical protocols, creating safe future housing, counseling, therapies, childcare/support for Haddon, and other miscellaneous needs they have. Sadly this is not a quick fix kind of health crisis and for years (possibly a lifetime) ahead they will have ongoing medical needs and care needs for Haddon. Every dollar counts!
