As a Mother, I know receiving news of a serious illness for one of my children would be devastating. Trying to figure out the logistics would be at the bottom of my priority list under taking care of my family, but letting things like lodging and financing fall to the wayside could easily make everything much more difficult.
In these tragic moments, many questions can weigh heavy if you are not near a hospital equipped with the medical necessities to help your child:
How can you be close to the hospital for all the tests?
How can you be there for your child without crazy hotel fees?
How do you keep your family whole through the process?
These are the questions my own parents had to ask themselves when I was just a baby. For the 3 years that I was in the hospital as a child, there was an organization that stepped up to help figure all this out so my parent’s focus could be on me: The Ronald McDonald House.
It is with an overwhelming sense of gratitude and with great pleasure that I would like to announce that the organization is opening a Family Room here in Idaho Falls in EIRMC this week!!
This room will help families just like mine by providing a space to eat, sleep, and be a family during these troubling times. This room can benefit your neighbors, family, and friends should the unimaginable happen!
Here in Idaho Falls, we are incredibly fortunate to have the Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center. With the regions’s only Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and only Pediatric Intensive Care Unit serving as the referral center for southeast Idaho, western Wyoming, and southern Montana, we can rest assured our children are in great hands should a need arise.
As with most great things, it takes a village. When you purchase items from our local house’s wishlist, you are providing for these families in some of their darkest hours. You are helping a mother, father, brother, or sister with one less thing to worry about during an incredibly difficult life challenge. These rooms strive to create a place for these families to hang their hats and not stress about meals or a place to sleep. Everything used within the room is free for these families and as my Father told me, “This is one of the greatest blessings they could have received during those years.” I hope you’ll consider passing on some kindness by shopping from their wishlist here: bit.ly/2KzaUu3 Items may be dropped off or shipped to 3200 Channing Way, Ste 106, Idaho Falls, ID 83404. You may also donate online here: https://rmhcidaho.givingfuel.com/familyroom or by calling 208-227-2898
If you want to take a look at the incredible space yourself, please visit their Open House event! This will be a great opportunity to tour the space and enjoy some refreshments. We always hope that life is going to be sunshine and rainbows, but these dark times can hit anyone and it is incredibly beneficial to have these rooms here locally to ease the burden and cut down the amount of travel time these families will have. Here is the link to the Facebook event created for the Open House: https://www.facebook.com/events/2429287403823099/
I might not remember the years I spent in the hospital, but my Father remembers it like it was yesterday. Having 4 children is a challenge in itself, but to receive devastating news about your 1 year old is life shattering. There are moments you don’t realize you’re going to miss until you are in that situation such as watching your children play together, eating as a family, and sleeping within hearing distance of your child. The Ronald McDonald Family Room provides the chance for parents to still have these things without stress and they come as an answer to these parents’ prayers. Please help support this local blessing. You never know the personal impact it can bring to your life.
For more information about the Ronald McDonald Family Room, please visit https://www.rmhcidaho.org/what-we-do/familyroom/
For more information about EIRMC’s Children’s Services, please visit https://eirmc.com/service/childrens-services
