By Sarah Carey
On June 11, 2011, our grandson, Haden, was born with complex heart disease. He has had two previous surgeries in Cincinnati with his third surgery scheduled on July 28, 2014 at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus which led to our stay at the Columbus Ronald McDonald House. During our month long stay at the Ronald McDonald House, we were able to be close to the hospital with someone by Haden’s side at all times. After long days at hospital, one of our favorite rooms was the library. We could just relax, read, or just mediate. To be able to stay at the Columbus Ronald McDonald House gave us comfort not only with the warm room, beautiful atmosphere, friendly hospitality from both the volunteers and staff, but with the peace of mind we were only minutes away from the hospital in case of an emergency. We were able to rotate shifts at the hospital and the Ronald McDonald House, so we were not burning ourselves out. Without the Ronald McDonald House, we would not have been able to have some stability in our schedules during a difficult time. The Ronald McDonald House allowed us to be able to be together as a family supporting each other without financially burdening ourselves. Our stay at the Columbus Ronald McDonald House helped lessen the emotional strain we were going through by providing their services to us. It gave us a home feeling during this time. We would like to thank you for everything that you did for us. Words cannot express our gratitude.