The Woolleys: Double Trouble

On July 11, mom Kahlyn went to the doctor for her 28-week growth scan of her twin boys. Logan had always measured smaller than Emmett. But at this particular appointment, Logan was nearly half his brother’s size. It was a dangerous situation for everyone.

“I was very, very scared,” remembered Kahlyn. “I kept asking myself, ‘Where do we go from here?’”

Her doctor sent her to a specialist at Northwest Medical Center, an hour and a half from home in Fort Huachuca. She underwent an emergency C-section later that day with her husband, Jeremy, at her side. The twins were swiftly rushed to the newborn intensive care unit where they were hooked up to more beeping machines than any parent would care to imagine.

“Thankfully our older kids, Asher and Ari, were visiting their grandparents in Kansas City at the time. That was a godsend, really.” Kahlyn and Jeremy spent the first few days at the hospital while Kahlyn recovered from the surgery. Then a social worker suggested they check in to the Ronald McDonald House.

The House had everything Kahlyn needed to care for her entire family. A place to do laundry, a place to gather together and a place for her kids to play when they returned from their grandparents. She even met a community of parents who understood what her family was going through – something that proved vital when her husband had to return to work on the base.

“You don’t feel alone because there’s always somebody to talk to,” said Kahlyn. “We met a family that has twins at TMC that were born at 27 weeks. It was really nice to sit down with them and have dinner with people who knew the boat that I was in.”

Your donations to Ronald McDonald House Charities of Southern Arizona make life a little easier for families like Logan and Emmett’s. Thank you.

The Wells-McFates: Seeing Things Again for the First Time

“My favorite part about being a dad is living through my kids. Seeing things again for the first time through their eyes. Watching them learn and explore.”

Will Wells is the father of three incredible children: Sayler (7), Legend (5) and little Willow (11 months). He and his wife, Joyce, were introduced to the Ronald McDonald House after Willow was born without her right pulmonary artery. This meant that her body wasn’t getting the oxygen it needed.

“It was a complete surprise.”

Willow would need specialized care at a hospital in Tucson, nearly an hour from their home in Benson. They worried about how they would care for her while also caring for her siblings at home. That’s when a nurse suggested they reach out to the Ronald McDonald House.

“The Ronald McDonald House is our safe haven. I’m not sure how else to put it,” said Will. “Being here gives me the freedom to get back down to ground level without worrying about her health and my work. It’s our home-away-from-home.”

Best of all, Willow’s siblings could stay at the House, too. At just 25 days old, Willow underwent surgery to have a stent placed to help her blood reach her lungs. But it wasn’t a permanent solution.

Willow’s family stayed at the Tucson Ronald McDonald House for a month and a half while she recovered from her initial surgeries. Then they received the news that doctors in Phoenix could build her a new artery. She needed to travel up there as soon as possible to start the process.

“We couldn’t get into the Phoenix House right away, so the Tucson House Manager got us a hotel for the first two nights until we could get off the waiting list. They were truly there for us when we couldn’t be there for ourselves.”

Willow’s surgery went well, and she was home with her entire family before she knew it.

She turns one in a few weeks and she’s still doing great. She’s smiley and adventurous and loves to play with her two older siblings. Her heart condition means she’ll have more surgeries as she grows, but her family now knows they will always have someplace like home when they need it.

The Russells: A Note from a New Mom

My name is Kaileen and I’m a new mom from Marana. I’ve volunteered at the Ronald McDonald House for years alongside my mom and her coworkers from TEP. We would cook meals for families as part of the Chef for a Day program.

But my husband and I didn’t think that we could find ourselves at the other end of the dinner table.

In March, during my third trimester, I started experiencing concerning symptoms. I was diagnosed with preeclampsia and three days later, I went into preterm labor. After several hours with no progress, I was rushed into surgery for an emergency C-section.

At first, baby Statler wasn’t breathing, but the doctors were able to bring him back. He needed a lot of care in the NICU. I was a mess when I was discharged without him.

We live an hour from the hospital and were wondering how to make it work. We’d do anything for him. We even considered sleeping in our truck. Then our doctor recommended the Ronald McDonald House.

Of course. Why didn’t we think of that? We called the House and explained our situation. Keys were waiting for us that very same night.

They’ve thought of everything at the House. There’s a lactation room with everything I needed to pump milk for Statler and keep him fed. We didn’t have to worry about cooking dinner. We met other families that know what we’re going through because they’re going through it, too. It felt like home.

We’ve been here a month and Statler is doing great! He gained 5 pounds, and his doctors gave him a clean bill of health. We’re very excited to celebrate our first holiday, and my first Mother’s Day, together at home.

Words can’t express how grateful we are to you and your support of Ronald McDonald House Charities of Southern Arizona. You made it possible for us to be close to Statler while he got the care he needed. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

With lots of gratitude,
Kaileen Russell
Statler’s Mom, 27 nights

The Scarbroughs: “We got this.”

Maraena and Henry met in the Army. They fell in love and married soon after. “We wanted to start a family right off the bat, pretty much. We got pregnant with twins originally,” remembered Maraena. “Be we miscarried in our second trimester.” It was devastating but they wanted to keep trying.

They felt blessed when baby Ireland was born a year later. They wanted kids close together so they started planning for baby number two right away. Henry said, “We wanted them close in age, so they could be friends growing up.”

Like most parents, they were excited about everything to come. They started decorating the new baby’s room and planning how to celebrate Ireland’s first birthday. But they never expected that Maraena would go into preterm labor on Ireland’s birthday.

It was too early to deliver her baby, so they rushed to Tucson from Sierra Vista. They would be cared for at Tucson Medical Center, which has one of only two Level III NICUs in Southern Arizona. The doctors kept her in the hospital hoping to delay delivery as long as possible.

“Henry was driving back and forth between Sierra Vista and the hospital to be with me. And I was kind of an emotional mess because I couldn’t see Ireland. It was horrible,” said Maraena.

That’s when a nurse asked if they knew about the Ronald McDonald House, which offers a “home-away-from-home” for all families with a child who needs medical care – including those experiencing high-risk pregnancies like Maraena’s. They could stay at the Ronald McDonald House as long as they needed to, and at no charge to them.

“It was a huge blessing. A huge, huge blessing,” said Maraena. “Both of us had no idea about the Ronald McDonald House until we needed it.

“The first week I was stuck in the hospital and I could only see Ireland once or twice a day for 5 or 10 minutes. I had never left her for a moment before. It was a shock to my system.”

The Ronald McDonald House offered everything they needed for a comfortable stay: a calming bedroom, a kitchen that was always stocked with homemade meals, and a playroom for Ireland.

And it was available for them because of YOU. Your gift is always used locally, supporting our families here in Southern Arizona. Please consider making another gift today.

“The House lets you focus on what’s really important – your family and the health of your child,” said Henry.

For nearly five weeks, Maraena experienced labor-like symptoms. Then, early one morning, Maraena felt something change. And because they were staying at the Ronald McDonald House, Maraena and Henry were at the hospital in just minutes. Baby Adeline was born later that morning at 36 weeks and 6 days.

Her blood sugar was a little low, so the nurses admitted her to the NICU for monitoring. “Once we realized she wasn’t ready to come home with us, it was that much more comforting knowing that we were at least close by at the Ronald McDonald House and able to visit her,” remembered Henry.

When Adeline was discharged, the whole family spent their first night together at the Ronald McDonald House so they could drive home to Sierra Vista the next morning on a full night’s rest. Maraena said, “When you get home, you realize how much the Ronald McDonald House provided. But you’re in a better place mentally, so you’re like, ‘We got this.’”
 

When you donate to Ronald McDonald House Charities of Southern Arizona, you provide a “home-away-from-home” for families like the Scarbroughs AND your gift may be eligible for a dollar-for-dollar tax credit on your Arizona State taxes.

The Estorgas: A Family with a Broken Heart

Twenty-three-year-old Emiliano was diagnosed with heart failure two years ago. At first, he tried many medications but ultimately, his doctor said it wouldn’t be enough. Emiliano’s left ventricle wasn’t pumping the way it should.

That’s when his family traveled to Banner University Medical Center in Tucson, where they got more information about his heart. His mom, Rebecca, and dad, Sean, spent the first week in a hotel, thinking the visit would be a short one.

“We didn’t know how bad it was,” said Sean. “We were going to be around for a while, and that meant leaving our lives; leaving our home. Coming here to just take care of him and be there with him.”

Fortunately, the Ronald McDonald House had a place for them to call “home” for a while. And unlike a hotel, the Ronald McDonald House was filled with supportive people who really cared for their family.

“We stayed here for two months now. We would have never been able to afford this kind of hotel for that length of time.”

While in Tucson, Emiliano received a heart pump. He’s now stable while he waits for a new heart. A wait that will likely take a year. With his heart pump, he was able to go home and he’s feeling happy, and hopeful.

“We appreciate all that has been done for us at the Ronald McDonald House. All the people that are here have been so supportive in some way or another with us. Thank you.”

When you donate to Ronald McDonald House Charities of Southern Arizona, you provide a “home-away-from-home” for families like Emiliano’s.

The Dos Santos: Going the Extra Mile

Imagine this: it’s midnight. Your pregnant wife wakes up in agony. You head to the hospital in Nogales where she’s diagnosed with preeclampsia. Her doctors want her to see a specialist at Tucson Medical Center (TMC) nearly 80 miles away.

Before you can wrap your head around the situation, they put her in an ambulance and she’s on her way. An hour-and-half drive. You’ll meet her up there in a few hours after arranging care for your three-year-old son. But before you can hit the road, you receive the life-changing phone call.

It’s your wife’s doctor. Her condition worsened enroute to Tucson. Her organs are failing. She’s being rushed into an emergency C-section. You won’t make it in time.

This account isn’t a ‘what-if’ scenario. It’s Paulo and Elizabeth Dos Santos’s story.

The first 48 hours were critical for baby Danna, who was born at 27 weeks. “It was really frightening because you come in and you just see three or four monitors and cables plugged in. You don’t even see the baby,” said Paulo. “I was thinking, ‘What now? What will we be facing?’”

Danna was a superstar. Her vitals were great, and she didn’t develop any complications. In the words of her doctor, she was perfect.

For the first two weeks, Paulo drove back and forth from Rio Rico every day so that his son, Phillipp, could have some normalcy.

But the stretch of I-19 between Tucson and Rio Rico is one of the deadliest roads in the United States. It’s dark and tedious – especially at night, which was when Paulo was driving, tired and drained after a day at the hospital.

When a social worker caught wind of the situation, she suggested the family apply to stay at the Ronald McDonald House. Paulo was worried about a lengthy application, thinking it would take months to get accepted. But the process was quick, easy and welcoming. They had a room at the House that same day.

“Staying at the House – I tell this to everyone – it’s a blessing. Nothing compares to the importance of being near to the baby.”

There was something for everyone. A bed for mom, a playroom for Phillipp and a workspace for dad. And the people at the House were so welcoming. Every day, a volunteer or staff member would ask, “How’s Danna? How are you?” When Elizabeth and Paulo answered, people truly listened.

Paulo quickly connected with other families staying at the House, wanting to continue the kindness that others had shown him and his family. He recalls one family that he met – a father and son from Mexico.

“The kid was here since December and he hadn’t seen his mom because his mom is on the Mexico side and she can’t cross. They had to pick up the car seat [from her] and they didn’t want to ride in the vans because it’s full of people. So I said, ‘yeah, I can drive you down.’ The idea was that I’d leave them at the border crossing in Nogales and they’d have to walk over and grab a cab on the other side. But I saw that the kid was so weak. So I phoned the company on the Mexico side and I asked the driver to cross to the States and pick the kid up at the border so that he didn’t have to walk.”

It was a small kindness that meant the world.

The Dos Santos family stayed at the Ronald McDonald House for nearly three months while baby Danna reached all her developmental milestones.

The family is now home in Rio Rico, where they’re oh so happy to have their family together.

When you donate to Ronald McDonald House Charities of Southern Arizona, you help families like the Dos Santoses stay together when it matters most.