RMH

Jacob's mom shares her son's remarkable journey, in her own words.

My son, Jacob was diagnosed before birth with a heart defect called Transposition of the Great Arteries and would need Arterial Switch surgery after birth.  Our family was advised that the time spent in Toronto for Jacob's surgery and recovery would be approximately 1 month.  To add to the worry that we had for our son surviving surgery, we also had to worry about where we would stay during that time. A Social Worker at SickKids Hospital informed us about Ronald McDonald House Toronto and the cost to stay there and I felt so much relief that I immediately became tearful.  To think that because of RMH Toronto we would be able to stay by our son's side was an immense weight lifted from our shoulders. 

Jacob's surgery at 7 weeks old was successful, however, he suffered a stroke and seizures immediately afterwards.  The stroke gave him a long term disability, Cerebral Palsy.  He is partially paralyzed on his right side but works extremely hard every day to change that.  Without Ronald McDonald House Toronto, Jacob's father and I would have had to sell our house in Timmins in order to afford accommodations because we couldn't afford to pay for our life in Timmins and a life in Toronto.  Hotel rooms (close to the hospital) would have run about $150-$200 per night….for an entire month that would have cost between $4,500-$6,000, whereas RMH Toronto only cost us $15 a night!  We were extremely grateful for RMH Toronto….they saved us and SickKids saved our son! 

The House is absolutely beautiful!  It is more beautiful than any hotel we've ever stayed in, more inviting and compassionate than we could have ever dreamed of.  The entire concept of RMH Toronto surprised us both….thank you for being so wonderful.  Jacob's diagnosis was hard to cope with but the surgery and after-effects were much worse.  

Even though we had RMH Toronto, we still obtained quite a bit of debt.  We needed to keep our home in Timmins fully functional for our 7 year old daughter, who had to stay behind so that she could have as much normalcy as possible.  It was hard to deal with what our son was going through and leaving our little girl behind.  

Our favourite memory of the house is Home for Dinner night…no contest.  It’s so nice to have a sense of family….even though that 'family' was comprised of strangers.  Strangers coming together for a common purpose warms my heart.   Because of RMH Toronto, we were able to sit by Jacob's bedside 16-18 hours per day for 4 weeks.  He knew we were there, he could feel us.  This wouldn't have been possible without the House.  

Jacob is now a year old and is thriving!!!  He is not letting his diagnosis hold him back. This little boy has so much strength and determination….he's a fighter and a joy to us every moment.

Thank you to every single person who has ever made a contribution to RMH Toronto.  Thank you to the devoted volunteers who generously donate their time for this life saving cause….thank you to McDonald's for donating a portion of their profits to RMH…..thank you to all of the caring staff…..I wish I had better words to use…… Thank you for helping to save our family, thank you for helping to save us!