Help With Healing: Support Max's Surgery
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This is Max. He's 7 years old and was adopted from China in 2015. He has an arterial venous malformation on his left mandible and a malformed mouth. Multiple surgeries were performed in China before his adoption, but we are now beginning the reconstruction process here in the United States. We are currently fundraising to help cover the surgeries, rehabilitation and medication he will require for a full recovery. We would greatly appreciate your decision to be a part of Max’s healing process! Read below for more details on Max’s procedures and to learn more about his story.
WHAT IS A VENOUS MALFORMATION:
This is a type of vascular malformation that results from abnormally developed veins that stretch or enlarge over time. Though not fatal, VMs can be extremely painful and sensitive and usually cause discoloration - Max’s VM leaves him with a bluish purple tongue and inner cheek.
Before surgery can begin, an MRI is needed to determine if this malformation is an AVM (arteriovenous malformation), a tangle of abnormal and poorly formed blood vessels including both arteries and veins. AVM’s are more serious, as they have a higher rate of bleeding than normal vessels and can occur anywhere in the body. If the MRI shows an AVM, this will make the reconstructive surgery more extensive and difficult due to the necessity of having to reroute a main artery before lip reconstruction can take place.
Our first step is to raise $5,000 for the MRI on February 21. Once the MRI is read we will be able to start the reconstructive process with a more definite plan. This can range anywhere from $20,000-$50,000 after insurance. Max’s family would appreciate any help with these costs that you can provide!! Keep up with our webpage to stay up-to-date on the latest news for Max’s reconstruction!
MAX’S FAMILY:
We are the Donaldson family: Jay and Sarah Kate; three girls-Lincoln, Millie, and Adah; and two boys-Tripp & Max. All our babies were born in America, right here in Georgia. That is, all of them except for Max. He was born in Guangzhou, China.
If you were counting, that makes 5 children. Yes, 5! Why on earth would we choose to adopt a little Chinese boy when we have 4 healthy babies of our own? Adoption brings so very many questions from so very many people. We cannot possibly answer all the questions you may have, but we can explain why adoption made sense for us and why we risked our family’s health to do so.
Simply put, life is worth fighting for. And Max’s life is worth all the efforts that we make (worth all the extra effort and more). It is not because Max is incredibly bright, which he is, or because he has a belly laugh that brings tears to your eyes, which he does. No, it’s because God has adopted us and given us a life that is full of blessings we don’t deserve. We want every child to have a family, and we were given the ability to provide one to a child that had none.
Here are a few of the “whys?” we wrestled with before deciding on adoption. Some of them may surprise you, but they are ultimately what led our family to adopt Max:
Why would you leave a child in an institution?
Why would you deny them the joys, sorrows, and love of a family when you have room for one more?
Why would you so thankfully and delightfully accept the gift of a Heavenly Father and His family when you are not willing to try and give that to someone in need?
These are the questions we had no answers for. But very soon our questions of “why?” became questions of “why not?”
Please recognize, our family is not a savior for Max, but we have Max because Jesus is our Savior. We are not perfect, not even close to perfect. Perfect people don't need a Savior, and we desperately need of our Savior Jesus Christ everyday. Our family is full of spilled milk, lost homework, loads and loads of laundry, constant meal planning, bickering, tears, hugs, kisses, and lots and lots of love. Family is hard and complicated sometimes, but we want our family to reflect our Savior, a picture of our adoption by God through Christ.
WHAT IS A VENOUS MALFORMATION:
This is a type of vascular malformation that results from abnormally developed veins that stretch or enlarge over time. Though not fatal, VMs can be extremely painful and sensitive and usually cause discoloration - Max’s VM leaves him with a bluish purple tongue and inner cheek.
Before surgery can begin, an MRI is needed to determine if this malformation is an AVM (arteriovenous malformation), a tangle of abnormal and poorly formed blood vessels including both arteries and veins. AVM’s are more serious, as they have a higher rate of bleeding than normal vessels and can occur anywhere in the body. If the MRI shows an AVM, this will make the reconstructive surgery more extensive and difficult due to the necessity of having to reroute a main artery before lip reconstruction can take place.
Our first step is to raise $5,000 for the MRI on February 21. Once the MRI is read we will be able to start the reconstructive process with a more definite plan. This can range anywhere from $20,000-$50,000 after insurance. Max’s family would appreciate any help with these costs that you can provide!! Keep up with our webpage to stay up-to-date on the latest news for Max’s reconstruction!
MAX’S FAMILY:
We are the Donaldson family: Jay and Sarah Kate; three girls-Lincoln, Millie, and Adah; and two boys-Tripp & Max. All our babies were born in America, right here in Georgia. That is, all of them except for Max. He was born in Guangzhou, China.
If you were counting, that makes 5 children. Yes, 5! Why on earth would we choose to adopt a little Chinese boy when we have 4 healthy babies of our own? Adoption brings so very many questions from so very many people. We cannot possibly answer all the questions you may have, but we can explain why adoption made sense for us and why we risked our family’s health to do so.
Simply put, life is worth fighting for. And Max’s life is worth all the efforts that we make (worth all the extra effort and more). It is not because Max is incredibly bright, which he is, or because he has a belly laugh that brings tears to your eyes, which he does. No, it’s because God has adopted us and given us a life that is full of blessings we don’t deserve. We want every child to have a family, and we were given the ability to provide one to a child that had none.
Here are a few of the “whys?” we wrestled with before deciding on adoption. Some of them may surprise you, but they are ultimately what led our family to adopt Max:
Why would you leave a child in an institution?
Why would you deny them the joys, sorrows, and love of a family when you have room for one more?
Why would you so thankfully and delightfully accept the gift of a Heavenly Father and His family when you are not willing to try and give that to someone in need?
These are the questions we had no answers for. But very soon our questions of “why?” became questions of “why not?”
Please recognize, our family is not a savior for Max, but we have Max because Jesus is our Savior. We are not perfect, not even close to perfect. Perfect people don't need a Savior, and we desperately need of our Savior Jesus Christ everyday. Our family is full of spilled milk, lost homework, loads and loads of laundry, constant meal planning, bickering, tears, hugs, kisses, and lots and lots of love. Family is hard and complicated sometimes, but we want our family to reflect our Savior, a picture of our adoption by God through Christ.
Organizer and beneficiary
Donaldson Friends
Organizer
Austin, TX
Sarah Kate Donaldson
Beneficiary
