Sara & Andrew are parents of a little girl getting care at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. Their daughter, Zia, was born with several medical issues, so they’ve stayed at the Ronald McDonald House several times since October of 2020, during the height of the pandemic. The Coshocton, Ohio couple is so grateful for being able to stay just 500 steps from their daughter’s room all this time, that they started a fundraiser this Giving Tuesday with funds going directly to RMHC of Central Ohio. While staying in the House this holiday season, they told us what the House means to them. Click the image below to hear from Sara about the family’s journey. If you would like to contribute to the family’s fundraising efforts, click the donation button below to be taken to our donation page and type “ZIA” under the Tribute section after checking the box letting us know you’re supporting this family.

“We didn’t have any warning that I was going into labor it just happened, so we were just so in love with her when we saw her we didn’t have time to be scared about her journey ahead,” said Katie, a new mom staying at the Ronald McDonald House in Columbus from Cambridge, Ohio.

Morgan was born at twenty-three months and two weeks gestation and, since the moment she entered this world five months ago, she’s been in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. First at OhioHealth Riverside Methodist Hospital, where she was born, then a week later at the Nationwide Children’s Hospital NICU. A social worker at Riverside requested a room for Morgan’s mom and dad, Katie and Devin, at the Ronald McDonald House across the street from the hospital where Morgan was getting care. Katie was discharged from Riverside while Morgan transported to the children’s hospital for tests and where her care would continue. “It was a very rough day,” Katie recalls. “We had just left her for the first time – she was still at Riverside – and her doctor called us to tell us about her brain bleed which was unexpected on our end. So honestly, we didn’t look at much of the house or remember much other than that call and headed straight back to the hospital.”

Now, Morgan has been seeing a lot of medical teams while in the hospital. Katie praised the hospital experts helping her grow, listing them off. “She has her neonatologists and nurse practitioners that see her every day, neurosurgery – who now check on her monthly for her grade 4 brain bleed, which has been stable – and an intestinal support team, who follow her for her bowel. She has had her normal occupational/physical therapist, music therapy, massage therapy…”

It takes a lot of work by a lot of professionals to keep a baby alive initially, then more to help that baby progress day by day. While the doctors & nurses at the hospital work to get Morgan to the point where she can leave the hospital, her parents Katie & Devin rearranged their lives to support her through virtually every waking moment of their lives. A lifestyle change Katie says couldn’t be done without being able to stay across the street at the Ronald McDonald House.  “It allows us to be at her bedside from early in the morning until late at night to be there to take care of her as much as we can and also feel comfortable being close enough to get some sleep at night.”

Katie added that it’s tough to be away from her daughter as she struggles with medical issues, so being just a few hundred step from her room makes all the difference. “It has been such a blessing! We didn’t have time to think about where we’d be staying it all happened so fast, let alone resources to pay a hotel or rent a place to stay up here as long as we have been. I’ve never left since she’s been born and my husband went back to work after 6 weeks. I am so happy that I am just right across the street from her. I’m not someone who can sleep in the hospital, so it is a place for me to go and recharge for a little bit before I head back over to spend time with our daughter. They provide food so we didn’t have to waste time at first going to the store when all that we wanted to do was be with our daughter. Being able to do laundry has been fantastic as well I can’t tell you what we’d do without the laundry being available. We don’t spend much time at the house but it is nice that we have somewhere to go for a break but also not be too far for comfort from our daughter.”

Katie & Devin are looking forward to taking their daughter back home to Cambridge, Ohio. But, during this month of gratitude, they want to make sure donors of money & time to the House know they are thankful for these investments in the future of their family an so many others. “It helps to take extra stress off us during the most stressful time of our lives and lets us focus on our daughter and her healing and development. I don’t think I can truly put into words all the blessings this house has meant to us. They were able to get us in so quickly and easily we truly could just focus on our daughter and not worry about anything else. All the staff and volunteers are always friendly! It’s so refreshing to encounter friendly faces all the time here.”

Friendly faces she hopes to see again, even after her daughter’s journey leads them all back home.

Fran Green recently celebrated her 6th year anniversary as a volunteer who helps families make banners. We interviewed her for a vlog post to celebrate her August anniversary. The story caught the attention of NBC4’s Audrey Hasson, who spotlighted her in a recent report. Click the image above to watch this feature report focusing on Fran’s dedication to help families.

The Ronald McDonald House located in Columbus, Ohio will be adding more guest rooms, dining facilities, and community room – launching community campaign “A Million Reasons”

COLUMBUS, OHIO –October 1, 2021  – Since 1982, the Ronald McDonald House in Columbus, Ohio has provided one million nights of rest for families of seriously ill, hospitalized children. In order to serve even more families at the House, RMHC of Central Ohio has embarked on the largest expansion project in our history – a transformational campaign to provide a million more nights of rest for families when they need it most. This project will include:

• An additional 80 guest rooms to accommodate more families
• New community rooms, expanded kitchen and dining, and green space for families
• Necessary renovations to the existing structure

With the expansion RMHC will be equipped to serve an additional 2,000 families each year, increasing the families served annually to 6,500. Without the services RMHC provides, the families who rely on RMHC for housing and food will be forced to pay an average of $100 a night for local accommodations as well as an average of $20 per person, per day, to feed three meals. Therefore, the total annual savings to families after the expansion will be approximately $14,200,000.

“We are thrilled to embark on this new project and work with our community for A Million Reasons,” said Dee Anders, CEO and Executive Director for Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Ohio. “This expansion will allow us to make a difference in the lives of so many more children and families, and we sincerely appreciate the support of our community. Without the generosity of Columbus and the Central Ohio region, we would not be able to accomplish this exciting growth.”

When a child is sick and needs specialty care in a hospital, the Ronald McDonald House is there to help keep families close. Located directly across the street from Nationwide Children’s Hospital, the Ronald McDonald House in Columbus, Ohio is one of the largest of its kind in the world. In fact, over 82,000 nights of rest are provided every year through the program.

Doctors and nurses take care of patients – RMHC takes care of the family. If it weren’t for the Ronald McDonald House and the services provided by the tireless staff and volunteers, many families would simply not be able to afford the necessary care for their children.

RMHC of Central Ohio currently serves more than 4,500 families annually whose children are treated at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, OhioHealth, Mount Carmel Health Systems, and The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. As those tremendous hospital systems grow, so the need at RMHC grows. RMHC of Central Ohio is kicking off a Community Campaign titled A Million Reasons. The charity has provided about one million nights at the Ronald McDonald House since opening in 1982, and is expanding to continue to provide that service for the many families who need it. The Community Campaign is aiming to raise one million dollars of community support. Visit the Ronald McDonald House Community Campaign website: www.RMHC-CentralOhio.org/AMillionReasons

Becket was born in a small Indiana town near the Illinois border. He was found to have a heart murmur and taken to an Indianapolis hospital for treatment. Doctors there couldn’t get to the root of the problem, even after surgery and recommended his parents take him to Nationwide Children’s Hospital. Here, they talk about what they’ve gone through with their young son and their experience with our Ronald McDonald House.

The following is a profile from Nationwide Children’s Hospital spotlighting 13-year-old Andy, one of its Patient Champions for the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Columbus Marathon next month. Andy and his mom, Carolina, have been coming to our Ronald McDonald House for almost half of his years on earth. While staying at the House, he became a Columbus Blue Jackets fan after catching a few games thanks to free tickets donated by The Columbus Blue Jackets Foundation to the House for families staying with us.

Andy was born via C-Section at 35 weeks. From the moment he was born, he had trouble eating and gaining weight. When Andy turned two, he was diagnosed with Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).

After many years of fighting and encountering problems due to his oral aversion, his doctors decided on the implantation of a Gastrostomy button to help maintain his nutrition.

In 2016, Andy was diagnosed with severe Gastroparesis. His doctors decided to change his Gastrostomy tube to a Gastro-Jejunal tube, which then prevented him from eating by mouth. After this diagnosis, his local Gastroenterologist in Oklahoma referred him to Nationwide Children’s Hospital.

Andy and his family travelled from their home in Oklahoma to Columbus where they met with his new physicians and doctors. The team of doctors ran an assortment of tests and the results indicated that Andy was a candidate for the gastric pacemaker. Andy had the pacemaker implanted in March of 2018 and his life changed drastically for the better.

Nationwide Children’s Hospital is proud to treat children in 49 U.S. states and 54 foreign countries. Andy and his family have been traveling to Columbus almost monthly for regular checkups with his doctors. “This hospital means hope and for us, and peace of mind that our son is under the best medical care. We are truly grateful for the medical team at Nationwide Children’s Hospital,” says Carolina, Andy’s mother.

Andy is a huge fan of the Columbus Blue Jackets and NASCAR! He also enjoys playing with his friends, reading books and attending school. He loves to play video games and basketball.

Andy is travelling the distance to get the care he needs.

By Maria Spain

My name is Maria Spain. I have been working as a Family Service Manager at Ronald McDonald House Charities for just over three years. My journey with the Ronald McDonald House started when I was a sophomore in college. I was struggling to pick a major, unsure of what career path I wanted to pursue, and seeking inspiration. One day I was speaking with a close friend who works at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and she recommended I get involved with RMHC of Central Ohio, because she had only heard great things about it. I was interested in getting involved with a non-profit, so I decided to walk in one day and see if there were any opportunities for me.

I met with Vicki, now my supervisor, and she showed me around the House. As I walked past all 122 guest rooms, I couldn’t believe how big the building was. The hallways were clean and the guest rooms were cozy. What impressed me the most, though, was all of the intricate details inlaid in every corner of the House. The music room was full of more instruments than I could think of. The library had teddy bears larger than me, and in the kitchen there were seats that looked like hamburgers. The art on the first floor walls made you feel as if you were walking through all 4 seasons in the span of 30 steps. The interior of one elevator looked like the inside of a spaceship, and it led us all the way up to a room that looked like outer space. It was truly so fun. What was more impressive than the uniqueness of the space, though, was that all of it is funded and created directly by our community. If you get to experience RMHC, you get to experience firsthand the impact that compassion and giving can do.

I started as a summer intern, and I was grateful for the opportunity to learn. I worked with some amazing people and learned so much about how a place like this runs. The good that RMHC does is a direct result of the hard work and kind hearts of all of the volunteers and staff members that show up every day to serve families. It was truly amazing, and every day that summer I was thankful to be even a small part of something so good.

In the past three years, I went from a summer intern to a full time staff member. As my knowledge has grown deeper, so has my appreciation for this RMHC chapter. I have met families from all over the world, and seeing their resilience through times of struggle encourages me daily. One of my main responsibilities at work is greeting families when they first arrive and checking them into their rooms. I am passionate about making families feel comfortable and supported during their time here. The magic of RMHC has remained just as strong as when I first walked through the hallways of the House years ago. I would encourage anybody in the community to come volunteer and experience some of the joy that RMHC brings to families.

Easton’s mom, Tania, brought her son to Nationwide Children’s Hospital from Wheeling, West Virginia hospital where he had been on a ventilator with BPD. He was discharged on very high levels of oxygen, but had to be readmitted. That’s when Tania decided to bring Easton to Nationwide Children’s Hospital where he made progress and was discharged. Now, Tania and Easton are back in Columbus so Easton can come off of his feeding tube by learning to eat orally. Tania knew she could come back to Columbus because she and Easton would be able to stay at our Ronald McDonald House. Click the image above to watch our interview with Tania and hear her talk about how helpful having the House has been during this trip and previous trips with the whole family.

Fran Green has been a family activities volunteer at the Ronald McDonald House for six years. She helps families string together pieces of construction paper and foam that are cut-out shapes and characters with letters to form a banner for their room, the patient’s hospital room, or for a sibling back home. She tells us about her experience and the gratification she gets helping families be creative during a difficult medical situation with their children. At the end of the video, she gets a big surprise! You can see the creations from many families on her Facebook page, facebook.com/funwithfran. Watch the video below.

Last year, Bill Mount, our chief volunteer gardener, was awarded Gardener of the Year, by the Franklin Park Conservatory during its annual Growing to Green Awards ceremony. We’ve been so proud to have Bill bringing love to our garden, which in turn brings love through fresh vegetables and fruits served as part of meals to families staying in the Columbus Ronald McDonald House. What’s more, the garden has been a great way for families to rest from the stress of the hospital, strolling through the gourd tunnel, picking flowers, or even helping to plant knowing the seeds they put in the ground now will some day help feed families going through a serious medical situation with their child too.

This year, the garden is being nominated for the Boyd W. Bowden Garden Impact Award for Wellness and Health, which is presented to a community garden that has shown a significant and sustainable impact on the health and vitality of the community while developing connections to Nutrition, Wellness, and/or Food Production.

Here are a couple of examples given to support the RMHC Garden’s nomination:

The garden was started with the intent to provide fresh, homegrown produce to families with sick children. Everything grown in the garden goes directly into the kitchens at Ronald McDonald House. This provides three meals days, 365 days a year for families with sick children. It’s also providing education to the families and volunteers at the House through accessible recipes that can be made at home.

Chef Blair Arms has received comments from family members staying at the House about how they had never tried a particular fruit or vegetable, until they saw it growing in our garden. Sometimes it’s the curiosity of the children themselves that prompt the tasting of something new, after a stroll through the garden. When a family has a sick child, they look for answers in science and medicine and they turn to nutrition, perhaps in ways they never had before, to augment their child’s well-being. This happens not just from the families sharing the produce, but also mentally, by strengthening family bonds as they gather to create their own meals in the family kitchens using what they’ve found in the garden.

RMHC of Central Ohio is anxiously awaiting the announcement of the winners of the award. We’ll keep you updated here and on social media as the garden changes and evolves while continuing to feed our families.