A message from our Kate:
People often ask me if it’s sad to work at the Ronald McDonald House. But honestly, even though the House is filled with families who have sick (sometimes very sick) children, there is happiness here. Not the jump for joy kind. The kind of happiness you get when you feel at home. When you feel cared for. When you know you are not alone. Our families remind us daily that a house is more than just a place. It’s a feeling.
When Sara Reeder put her newborn son, Logan, in a car seat to head back home to Yuma last week, she was in, as she puts it, “full-on gratitude mode.”
More than two years ago, doctors had told Sara that it was unlikely she could ever be a mom. So when she got pregnant, there were concerns. A previous surgery for uterine fibroids made her pregnancy very high risk, and she wanted to do everything she could to have a healthy baby.
Because spontaneous labor could endanger both her life and the baby’s, doctors in Yuma wanted to deliver the baby when she was 34 weeks pregnant and baby Logan was only 3.5 pounds.
But Sara knew Logan was too little to be born that early, so she insisted there had to be another way. The only option, her doctor advised, was to spend a month in Tucson, near a hospital with a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). How could she afford to spend a month away from home?
Before she even started worrying about paying for a hotel, a social worker at Banner University Medical Center told her about the Ronald McDonald House. Your gift to RMHC will help provide this warm, caring, safe place to stay, close to a great hospital in Tucson, all at no cost to families like hers.
Although our primary mission is providing care for families of sick children, we are also able to provide short-term housing for women with high-risk pregnancies.
Sara was a guest at the Ronald McDonald House for 30 days. She was sometimes accompanied by her cousin, her aunt, her friend, or her boyfriend, Marc. Sara says she felt welcomed the minute she checked in.
“There were baby quilts and toys on the bed – like they were expecting me! And everyone was so kind and accommodating. I never felt like I was in a hotel. This place is so heartwarming. Having people cook for you makes you feel like you are part of the family.”
And about the gratitude? On October 30, Sara gave birth to baby Logan, who was 5 ½ pounds and “perfect,” said his parents. Since she was able to stay at the Ronald McDonald House for four weeks, her son got to spend that time developing in the womb, rather than in an incubator in the NICU.
You can make this possible for future families who stay at the Ronald McDonald House. Your gift will help more than 600 families like Sara’s each year. You can help create this wonderful “home-away-from-home.” It is only because of our community’s support that all the families who stay here stay at no charge.
I know from talking to Sara and other families how much the Ronald McDonald House means to them. But the thanks go deeper than words – as does our gratitude for your support of our mission.
Remember, when you give to Ronald McDonald House Charities of Southern Arizona, every dollar stays here in Tucson to help families through one of the most stressful times in their lives.
From all the children and families we serve, thank you.
Sincerely,
Kate Maguire Jensen
President & CEO
P.S. More families like Sara’s are arriving at our House every day. YOU can help them too. Your gift will let them focus on what matters most – their child’s health.
