‘Her Final Wish’: GoFundMe Started To Help Adopt 4 Austin Children Whose Single Mother Is Dying Of Cancer

An organizer in the Austin area is currently raising funds for a family to adopt four children whose mother has terminal cancer.

Christian Cryder, a longtime Austin community member who co-runs Lazarus Brewery and leads the church All Souls, posted the fundraiser on Jan. 14 to raise funds so that his son, Malachi Cryder, and his wife, Jordan Cryder, can legally adopt the children. Their mother, “Miss B,” is currently seeking treatment at Ascension Seton Medical Center. Unfortunately, however, her treatment has not slowed the progression of her illness, and, according to Christian, she is dying.

Considering this, Miss B wrote a legal statement stating that she wants Malachi and Jordan, who had been spending time with her and assisting with caretaking and bills, to take care of the four girls when she passes. But the Cryder family is navigating complicated legal fees, adoption regulations, and unique challenges that make it necessary to ask for community support.

How Did the Cryder Family Meet Miss B?

Christian posted a full story as to how he and his family met Miss B and her family on the GoFundMe page.

There, he explained that friends at Ascension mentioned a woman in her late 30s is currently seeking treatment and may need help from a community. The Cryder family met Miss B along with her four children and assisted with bills. They realized that Miss B’s older children had been taking care of her, so they started assisting her. The family spent time with Miss B and her daughter, taking them to church while inviting her over for the holidays.

Three days after Christmas and a holiday visit, Miss B was admitted to the ICU. The family began to wonder what would happen to her daughters, who, at that time, had no other caretaker readily available. While two of the girls had the same father, the other two had a different parent. Christian mentioned in his GoFundMe post that these different parents live across different states, with one even living a continent away. It became apparent that it would be difficult for the girls to stay together if the situation remained as it was.

Miss B spoke to one of her old friends, who then told Malachi and Jordan that she was interested in having them adopt her children. The couple said yes. Since then, the family has been working diligently to figure out how to legally adopt the four girls. Miss B signed an official, legal statement, which stated her intentions for Malachi and Jordan to take custody.

"This is her final wish. It will be a very heavy lift. But we've promised to do everything we can to help make it happen. And now we're going to need your help..." the GoFundMe reads.

What Are The Legal Challenges With This Adoption Case?

It’s difficult to predict how the legal process may happen for Malachi, Jordan, and the young girls. In Texas law, parental rights are protected until they are legally terminated. That generally means that each father would need to legally terminate their legal parentage before Malachi and Jordan can proceed with adoption. At the very least, though, all of the girl’s fathers have to be notified.

That’s something the Cryder family is aware of. Christian stated, “This case could be complicated, since it involves four girls with three fathers spanning two continents. And those fathers will need to be located and informed so they can consent to (or oppose) Miss B's wishes.”

But, if everything did remain uncontested, the family still would use the money for the girls’ benefit. Toward the end of his GoFundMe page’s message, Christian mentioned that any excess funds from the page will go toward each child’s education.

Patch reached out to Christian Cryder via GoFundMe for comment.