African boy’s treatment visit leads to bond
Yvan Youan stretched out comfortably on the living room carpet in front of the Christmas tree, methodically connecting wooden train tracks to carry his toy train over bridges and through tunnels.
He was on extra good behavior; the Elf on the Shelf was watching.
Soon the 7-year-old would get ready for bed in his Sylvania Township home, read a book with Mom, and say a quick prayer before turning out the light.
It’s a routine Amy and Reeves Northrup are grateful for, and one they couldn’t have imagined three Christmases ago. In December, 2016, the couple was preparing to put Yvan on a plane back to Africa’s Ivory Coast, where his biological mother and grandmother were waiting for him.
The Northrups had shared the responsibility of caring for Yvan with another Ohio family when he came to the United States through a Christian medical missions organization in 2016. He spent the year in and out of doctors’ offices and hospitals undergoing procedures and surgery to straighten his two club feet so he could walk properly.
Once he healed, the Northrups knew their role in the life of the African child they had grown to love was coming to an end.
“It was tough. I’m giving him kisses goodbye, knowing that I’ll never see him again,” Reeves Northrup said. “We knew why we were doing this, to help him get surgery and get back. But even though you know that ... then to let him go? Yeah, that was tough.”
Amy Northrup used to hold Yvan’s hand every night until he would fall asleep. The night he left for Africa, she held Yvan’s jacket instead, closed her eyes, and pictured his face.
Back to Africa
That wasn’t the end of their story, even though it seemed that way.
“We did go back to life without him. We worried about him, but we knew the longer he was there, the more he was acclimating,” Amy Northrup said. “We just hoped that he would remember us.”
Yvan was supposed to stay home in the Ivory Coast for six months before returning temporarily to the United States for a checkup on his feet. The Northrups and others had helped secure a small apartment for Yvan, his mother, and grandmother so they could move from their hut in a small village to a location with more opportunity.
But things didn’t go as planned. Yvan was supposed to wear metal braces four hours every night, but his braces broke and his feet started to turn back. He fell ill with malaria, the Northrups were told, and his mother and grandmother were in a strained financial situation.
Galion resident Holly Christini, who shared care of Yvan with the Northrups in 2016 and traveled with him back to Africa to get him settled, said family circumstances turned Yvan’s temporary visit back to the United States on a medical visa in April, 2017, into a permanent stay.
“His mom and grandma love him a lot. They do. He is a very loved boy,” she said. “They loved him enough to let him go. I think that’s really important for him to know.”
Yvan was suddenly on track to live permanently with another local family, a prospect the Northrups were thrilled about. Reeves, now 58, and Amy, now 56, have three grown children and were happy to take on the role of Yvan’s American grandparents.
The arrangement didn’t pan out, but they now believe perhaps it wasn’t meant to.
‘He can stay’
Oct. 4, 2017, was simultaneously one of the best and worst days of the Northrups’ lives.
A hot, fast-moving fire broke out about 3:30 a.m. The couple made it out safely with Yvan, but the blaze destroyed the house and nearly everything inside it. Firefighters carried the family dog, Jet, out of the charred structure. He was limp, and crews gave him oxygen before he was rushed to an animal hospital. He recovered after a 10-day hospital stay.
Six hours after the fire, the Northrups were in court paving the way for Yvan to remain in the United States and with them. A decision about final custody would come later.
“It was such a bad day, but it was such a great day,” Amy Northrup said, reflecting from her couch in the home the family rebuilt.
Yvan stopped playing with his train set and looked up. “Why?” he said.
“Because we got you,” she said. “The judge said, ‘He can stay!’ What do you think of that?”
Two weeks later, the Northrups went out to dinner to celebrate their wedding anniversary. They danced around the topic of Yvan. Was it best for him to permanently stay with them? Should they find a new set of younger parents to take him in? They asked themselves these questions before Amy Northrup broke the silence.
“My dad wants us to book tickets to Florida,” she told her husband.
“We had better get three [tickets],” he said back.
No more discussion was necessary. They couldn’t imagine life without Yvan as their son.
This Christmas is a joyous occasion. It’s Amy Northrup’s favorite holiday, which was clear from one look inside her home. Every room was decorated, and presents were tucked neatly under the tree. A lot has changed in three years.
“We were trying to keep a stiff upper lip the Christmas that he was here before, and the whole time we knew within two weeks our heart was going to break,” she said.
Christini, who still sees Yvan about once a month, said she believes it was God’s plan to bring Yvan and the Northrups together. The Northrups had never before cared for a child from Africa with medical needs — Yvan was Christini’s fourth — and most of the children in the program successfully reunite with their biological families.
“Sometimes things don’t work out and they’re not able to raise them,” Christini said. “It was a God thing that Amy and I were able to connect. The Northrups are the perfect fit for Yvan.”
Home in the U.S.
Yvan has settled in well to his life in America.
He has mom and dad and his brothers and sisters, who are the Northrups and their adult children, Abigail, Tripper, and Victoria; he has Aunt Holly and Uncle Mick, who are the Christinis; and he has Africa mom and grandma, who he regularly sees on video chat.
He said he likes living in the United States because, “I get to play with friends.” His favorite foods are sushi and peanut butter, jelly, and jalapeno pepper sandwiches. He is learning to read, and he has a sharp sense of humor.
“He’s a typical firstgrader,” said Emily Lindhurst, Yvan’s teacher at Whiteford Elementary School. “You would never know he wasn’t born here. He fits in well with all the other kiddos. He gets along with them.”
Lindhurst, who attended grade school with the Northrups’ three children, said she is confident he’s going to grow into a successful adult. He has found great parents in the Northrups, she said, and people are naturally drawn to him.
“I’ll be interested to see what he does,” she said.
His feet, which originally brought him into the Northrups’ lives, are “pretty darn close to perfect,” Amy Northrup said. He does mild physical therapy, but he no longer has to wear braces at night. He runs around the house, in the backyard, and at the playground at school.
“We don’t really talk about what his life would have been. He’ll figure it out,” she said. “Now, he just knows he has two parents that love him.”
The Northrups don’t think of what they’re doing as a sacrifice. Sure, they won’t be able to retire as soon as they hoped, but Yvan fills their home with life and brings them so much joy.
“I think about him all the time,” Reeves Northrup said.
“I just think so much good has come out of it,” Amy Northrup said.
They wouldn’t have it any other way.