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