Lynette Two Moons was first introduced to the Ronald McDonald House when she was around 10 years old. Her auntie had welcomed a son and he had to stay in the hospital a little longer than usual. During that time, she, her auntie and her grandma stayed at a Ronald McDonald House in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

“This was the very first time we ever heard about the Ronald McDonald House,” said Lynette. “This had to be in the 1980s sometime. It was awesome because me and my grandma got to stay there. Everything that they do now they also did there. Anything we needed they were able to help assist us with it.”

But she never imagined that she would return to the Ronald McDonald House many years later with her own son, Austin.

In 2013 while living in Elfrida, she and her husband, Brian, were expecting baby number five. The doctor noticed signs of slow development three months in, but they largely resolved. Then Lynette’s water broke early when she was just shy of seven months.

“I went in expecting to have a baby,” she recalls. “Turns out there were complications with his heart so they flew us to the children’s hospital in Aroura, Colorado, to see a pediatric heart specialist. From there I was on bed rest for as long as they could keep me on bed rest.”

When a social worker suggested Brian stay at a Ronald McDonald House down the street, Lynette immediately remembered how helpful everyone was at the House when she was a little girl. She knew it would be a calm and soothing place for her family – just like home.

Austin was born nearly two months later and before he was even a day old, he had been through open-heart surgery. A pacemaker was inserted. He had a long road ahead of him.

“It was scary for all of us just for the fact that we knew he had this odd piece of metal helping his heart beat,” said Lynette. “But bittersweet because he was alive and able to be home with us. It built a stronger bond between our family.”

It would be another two months before Austin went home to Elfrida. Then when he was two years old, his heart started to swell. His primary care physician said to take him to Diamond Children’s Medical Center right away. Lynette packed up their things and made the two-hour drive to Tucson.

After many tests, Austin’s doctors discovered that the procedure he had as a baby had reversed. “Another hole had formed and surgery wasn’t going to fix it,” remembered mom. “So, they started preparing us for hospice care.”

Like Austin, his family was heartbroken.

“We were preparing for the worst. But the doctors decided to see if he would be eligible for a transplant. After a day, we were blessed, and they told us the good news that he was eligible. So they transferred us to Phoenix Children’s Hospital where Austin would wait for his heart.”

For the next five and a half months, Lynette once again found a “home-away-from-home” at a Ronald McDonald House close to her son. Then his heart transplant came through.

“We grew so much closer during Austin’s hospitalization,” Lynette said. “Just being able to grow in faith and be there for each other. And to know that life is precious and that we need each other to keep moving forward and growing.”

Now 9 years old, Austin’s heart doesn’t slow him down. “He’s a hyperactive little dude,” Brian said. “He loves volleyball, basketball, soccer. He’s a kid, so he doesn’t think much about his heart, but I think about it and pray about it every morning.”

Because Austin’s heart makes him more susceptible to infections, they need to travel to Tucson for specialized dental care and to Phoenix for cardiology check-ups.

In both cities, Austin and his family know that they always have a place to call home at the Ronald McDonald House.