RMH

Madelyn's mom recounts the journey that resulted in her family to spend 11 days at Ronald McDonald House Toronto.

What circumstance brought you and Madelyn to Ronald McDonald House Toronto?
Madelyn was born with a congenital heart defect called an AVSD (Atrioventricular Septal Defect) and then later developed an additional defect called LVOT - or Complex Left Ventricular Outflow tract obstruction. The first was fixed when she was 3 months old, the second when she was 16 months old.  This is when we came to Ronald McDonald House Toronto.

What would you have done without Ronald McDonald House Toronto?
We would have stayed in a hotel - which is what we did for her first surgery. We ended up being in a hotel for almost 2 weeks at a substantial cost.

What surprised you most about the House?
Probably the kitchen facilities and the beautiful rooms. We were also blown away with the generosity that we witnessed from different people for different reasons --- every single day.

What kind of impact did Madelyn’s diagnosis have on your family (emotionally, financially, other)?
Her diagnosis was very emotional. We found out when she was 4 days old and it was 3 months of in-home care and hospital visits before her surgery. Not only was it emotional because our child was sick, but it was emotionally exhausting to be her parents and main source of medical care a lot of the time. Our friends kept telling us our lives as parents were not normal, but we did not know any different so it was our normal. Our first stay in Toronto for her first surgery was financially cumbersome, but it was really the least of our worries at that point.

What did you enjoy most about your stay at the House/favourite memory?
The Home for Dinners were incredible. The kindness of those people to provide meals for the families was heartwarming and I know how much we appreciated it, even though we were only there for approximately 2 weeks. I also really enjoyed getting to know the other families. Their stories of hardship, but also getting to know their strength and their courage was truly inspiring.

What would you like to say to those individuals and companies who donate funds to keep the House open and operating?
I actually teared up as I went to respond to this question. The funds  that are donated are absolutely priceless. Just from our experience and our short stay, the burden that was lifted by being able to stay at the House was tremendous. We were able to fully focus on Madelyn's recovery and block out a lot of those elements that the House is able to eliminate for you. 

In what ways did your stay at the House impact Madelyn’s healing and recovery?
There was a great impact. While she was in the hospital we were able to fully focus on her as our minds were not clouded with other stressors that we could have been focusing on. We were also able to stay in Toronto once she was released and have her post-op care done by Sick Kids.

Anything else you would like to add about your stay at the House?
Our stay at Ronald McDonald House Toronto was beyond anything we could have imagined. From the staff and volunteers, the facilities, the activities and other families - it was all incredible. I don't think I have stopped speaking about it since we left. It has left such an impact on our lives, so much so that we have promised each other that we will make sure to always give back to the House in as many ways as we can.