352-374-4404×222 | 2121 SW 16th Street, Gainesville FL 32608
352-374-4404×222 | 2121 SW 16th Street, Gainesville FL 32608
Our families are the heart and soul of everything we do at Ronald McDonald House Charities of North Central Florida. Take a moment to meet our families and read their stories.
“When you first find out, they say this is going to be two to three years of treatment.” And I just remember as a mom thinking, ‘Are my other kids not going to have a mom for the next two and a half years?’”
“He got on the ventricular assist device about 17 days into his life and we’ve been on the transplant list pretty much since then. You’re not going to be taking your baby home how you thought you were.”
“And I remember being in the room by myself and just asking the nurse, ‘Where’s the baby? What’s wrong?’ and my husband said to me, ‘They brought you upstairs to say goodbye. He’s not doing well.’ The nurses basically said, ‘Once we stop supporting him, he’s going to pass.”
For months, Emma’s family searched for answers. She had been sick for a while, and test results pointed to several possible viruses that can mimic leukemia. At one point, doctors reassured her parents that it was not cancer.
Then came the call that changed everything. Additional testing had found blast cells in Emma’s blood, and her family was told to go to UF Health Shands Children’s Hospital immediately for a biopsy.
Her parents were stunned. They had just been told Emma was okay, and suddenly they were facing the possibility that their daughter had cancer. After days of waiting in the hospital, doctors asked to speak with Emma’s parents privately. In that moment, they knew the news was serious.
Emma was diagnosed with leukemia, and her family was told treatment could take two to three years.
For Emma’s mom, the fear was not only about the diagnosis. It was also about how to care for all of her children at once. Emma needed her parents by her side, but her siblings needed them, too. The thought of being separated from any of them during such a long treatment journey was overwhelming.
That is why Ronald McDonald House became such an important part of their story.
At the House, Emma’s family could stay together near the hospital. Her parents could be there for Emma during treatment while still being present for their other children. Instead of trying to manage long drives, hotel costs, and the stress of being pulled in different directions, they had a place to land as a family.
“I can be here for her, and I can be here for my family, and we can be here together,” Emma’s dad shared.
For Emma’s family, Ronald McDonald House made the impossible feel possible. During one of the hardest seasons of their lives, they found comfort, support, and a place where their family could remain close.
Oliver’s parents were preparing to welcome their baby boy when, late in pregnancy, an echocardiogram showed that something was wrong with his heart. In an instant, the joy and anticipation of bringing their son home turned into uncertainty.
Oliver was diagnosed with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, or HLHS. His heart did not have the typical four-chamber structure, and doctors determined that a heart transplant would give him the best chance at life.
Within the first few weeks after he was born, Oliver was placed on a ventricular assist device and added to the transplant list. His parents quickly learned that the transplant journey could be long, complicated, and filled with near misses. They also knew one thing for certain: they needed to be near their son.
Their home was about 100 miles away from the hospital. Without a place to stay nearby, being with Oliver each day would have meant overwhelming financial stress, long drives, and difficult choices no parent wants to make.
That is when they learned about Ronald McDonald House.
Before Oliver’s diagnosis, his parents knew about the House in a general way, but they never imagined they would need it themselves. Once they arrived, they found what every family in crisis needs most: a room close to the hospital, meals, support, and people who understood that their world had changed overnight.
For Oliver’s parents, the House removed the burden of wondering where they would sleep or how they would afford to stay near their baby. It gave them the chance to focus on Oliver’s care, celebrate his progress, and remain by his side as they waited for the call that could change everything.
Through months of uncertainty, Ronald McDonald House helped Oliver’s family hold onto what mattered most: being together.
Ezra’s story began with a frightening delivery. After intense labor, doctors performed a C-section. As soon as Ezra was born, the tone in the room shifted. He stopped breathing, and his heart stopped.
Doctors performed CPR for 45 minutes, then again for another 20 minutes. Ezra’s mom remembers waiting and wondering why no one had handed her the baby. Then his parents were told to come upstairs to say goodbye.
After Ezra was baptized, a nurse took him off of life support and placed him in his mom’s arms for the first and last time. Suddenly, he began crying like a newborn baby should. His parents describe that moment as a miracle.
But Ezra’s fight was only beginning. Doctors later explained that he would need a heart transplant. For his parents, accepting that reality was heartbreaking. They wanted the life they had imagined for him, and they knew a new heart could give him the chance to go home and grow.
For about eight months, Ezra’s family stayed close as they waited for the right match. His parents were at the hospital every day, showing up for every milestone, every hard conversation, and every moment of hope.
Hospital staff told Ezra’s family that one of the reasons he had done so well was because his parents were always there with him. His dad said that without Ronald McDonald House, that would have been impossible.
The House gave Ezra’s parents a place to rest, recover, and return to their son each day. It meant Ezra was never alone, and his family never had to choose between being by his side and having a place to stay.
Because of Ronald McDonald House and the people who support it, Ezra’s family could stay close through the long wait for his heart and the journey toward bringing him home.
