- My friend Pam and her daughter and son-in-law Liz and Steven...Liz came to the Ron McD House expecting twins to be born at the Colorado Children's Hospital here -- one, baby Brayden, suffers with the condition called "Hypo plastic Left Heart" where his left heart ventricle isn't formed. Both babies were born last Wednesday...Parker came "home" to the Ron McD House yesterday. Brayden had his first surgery this morning to begin to repair his heart...he is still not stable as of this evening.
- My friend Sandy...her 15-year-old daughter Anna, a beautiful and well-adjusted teenager, got the flu in January. Since then she has suffered from life-altering anxiety...cannot leave the house. Anna is in intensive therapy here to try to get to the bottom of and help relieve this anxiety issue.
- A couple here who have a little boy born early with Downs Syndrome...the doctors are waiting for him to hit 3 1/2 pounds so they can begin his life-saving surgery for a respiratory disorder.
- The family that lost a baby boy today...he was 3 months old and had an unknown chromosome disorder. They have been here 4 days.
- Sophie and her family from New York...a 15-year-old girl who has suffered with anorexia since the age of 11,,,stayed at the hospital clinic for 6 weeks. She and her mom headed back to New York on Saturday...her mom was filled with much anxiety about what was to come when they returned home.
- A mom from upstairs...her 11-year-old little girl suffers from extreme hallucinations--she is in the inpatient psych ward at the Children's Hospital here.
- A pastor and his wife...their 3-year-old little boy Ethan began having seizures from out of the blue and has been diagnosed with a disorder that basically means "unexplained seizures" -- they are here to try an experimental dietary plan that will hopefully stop the seizures from occurring.
- A mom and her precious 8 month old little girl...she was born with terrible jaundice and her pediatrician let it go for 3 months...her liver is not functioning and she is waiting for a liver transplant. Mom told us they are basically waiting for another family to have a tragedy so her little girl can live.
- Ika, a mom of two kids...her daughter suffers from a skin condition that must be treated every year or so. Her son has profound Autism, and this trip is really hard for him. Her husband, Bob, had to travel back to Arizona to work and cannot be here with them during their six week stay.
There are so many others...but all of us have one thing in common. We are here for our kids. I was worried before we came that we would be the only ones here without a life-threatening illness...that our problem would seem insignificant to the others at the Ron McD House. What I have found instead is such a bond with everyone here...and that although we all might have different problems each of them are the most important to us -- and that there are such a variety of needs here that we fit right into the mix.
So tonight as I sit here in this quiet little room on the second floor listening to my little boy jerk and toss and turn and grit his teeth...tonight I ask for prayer for all of us here. For we, the kindred moms and dads and grandmothers and grandfathers of the Ronald McDonald House in Aurora, Colorado, we are all struggling to help our kids have a better life. And each and every one of us would move Heaven and Earth to make it happen.
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