The Gift of Love

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We have had several different people write for our blog, and in honor of Valentine’s Day, we wanted to share the gift of love from a former family who stayed at our Ronald McDonald House. Here is their story.

By the Garcia Family

My daughter, Esmeralda (Esmie), was transported via air ambulance from Phoenix Children’s Hospital in Arizona to Nationwide Children’s Hospital on November 2nd, 2012.

Esmie was diagnosed with Interstitial Lung Disease, a rare autoimmune disease that attacked her lung organ. Esmie’s disease began at 11 years old, and she continued having difficulties breathing, muscle weakness and pain. With the care of the doctors she was receiving and her oxygen support, she was able to make it through until October 6, 2012. Her lungs had gotten worse—they had scarred and stopped functioning.

Doctors in Phoenix did not have much to say, but they told us Esmie was going to need a lung transplant. She was then put on the Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation Machine (ECMO), a procedure that uses a machine to take over the work of the lungs. Four days after the Nationwide Children’s Hospital team came to Phoenix, they airflighted Esmie to Columbus. On November 24, 2012, Esmie received her lung transplant, and this was a huge gift to us. On January 8, 2013, Esmie was discharged from Nationwide Children’s Hospital.

I want to say thank you to Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Ohio. While I was there, I met a lot of caring staff members and volunteers. The Columbus Ronald McDonald House made me feel at home. In those stressful moments with my daughter, I really had a home to sleep, eat, and shower just to be ready to go to the hospital, which was less than a minute away, and be with my Esmie. Just knowing I had been able to be well-rested to speak with Esmie’s doctors made all of the difference in the world.

From the bottom of our hearts, we truly appreciate everything the Columbus Ronald McDonald House has to offer. It has been a long journey, but we truly treasure all of the time we have been able to spend together because of the Ronald McDonald House!