Crystal and Philip Branch live in Buffalo, New York. But for nearly 100 days now, they’ve been living at our Ronald McDonald House. “We ended up in Columbus unexpectedly due to an emergency C-section,” Crystal says. “We were traveling for a medical procedure for our (unborn) twins when I went into preterm labor,” Crystal explains. That meant the couple’s trip to Cincinnati would have to stop suddenly with an emergency detour to OhioHealth Riverside Methodist Hospital here in Columbus.
Sadly, The Branches lost one of the twins, but their other daughter was born at 24 weeks gestation. Due to her extreme prematurity and some other significant complications, Charley, as their new baby was named, would be admitted to Nationwide Children’s Hospital when she was 4 days old. “She needed to be transferred for emergency surgery,” Crystal explains. “It was very late at night, we had not had a lot of sleep. We were stressed and worried about Charley being moved in her condition. It was comforting to know that we were so close to the hospital and could be there as soon as she arrived. We were surprised how inviting it felt.” Crystal and Philip had become familiar with RMHC of Central Ohio while Charley was in the NICU at Riverside Methodist Hospital. The couple found they were able to do laundry in the Ronald McDonald Family Room near the NICU. Crystal points out that the couple didn’t pack very many clothes for their trip because they weren’t expecting to be away from home for a long time when they started their road trip to Cincinnati.
Crystal gives the biggest reasons the Ronald McDonald House has been so important to her and her husband these last three months and more than a week saying it’s “The ability to have some of the weight lifted off of our shoulders with knowing that we have somewhere to stay and have home cooked meals. We can focus on our baby knowing that these stresses are taken care of.”
To further express her gratefulness, Crystal concludes, “The Ronald McDonald House has been such a blessing to us, with all of the stress that we have been dealing with it has been nice to know that housing is one thing that we don’t have to worry about. RMHC has lifted some of the financial burden off of our shoulders and we cannot be more grateful. Everything from the volunteers and employees who prepare home cooked meals, laundry facilities, and closeness to the hospital, we could not ask for more. Thank you RMHC, donors, and volunteers for allowing us to provide the best care and comfort to our daughter until she can come home.”