Case studies
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Gary Tyler and Debbie Reynolds were dealt the cruel blow in February of this year that their two-year-old son, Billy, had a tumour on his brain.
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Miracle surgery saved little Jake
Our son Jake Willett was born at 29 weeks gestation weighing a tiny 2lb 4oz on the 24 September 2011. He was so tiny, yet so perfect. For three weeks Jake did amazingly well, going from strength to strength, gaining weight slowly and breathing on his own with no ventilation at three days old. Things were going so well and the doctors were really impressed with Jake’s progress until October 2011.
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For Jo and Dan Matthews, last Mother’s Day was spent worrying about the health of their seven month old baby Wilf.
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Tuuli could feel our presence by her bedside
First time parents Nina and Joe found out their unborn baby girl Tuuli developed complications 12 weeks into the pregnancy. But they didn’t realise the extent of her illness and how much treatment she would need.
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I almost lost my life and my baby in the delivery room
After two pregnancies and two healthy baby boys, Leanne (26) and her partner Damien (26) were extremely excited when they found out they were going to be parents again and that this time, they were going to have a baby girl. The pregnancy was unexpectedly easy, with no morning sickness or other complications. However, the delivery was a very different story. Leanne became very ill and almost lost her baby and her life in the delivery room.
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I felt there was always someone there that I could talk to
Baby Georgia was born with a bowel condition and spent the first 14 months of her life in hospital. Her parents found a second home at Ronald McDonald House Oxford.
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When you’re miles away from home your world turns upside down
When Rebecca Deane had twins a few weeks before Christmas the holiday looked destined to be a magical time. Her little girls, Bella and Evie, seemed perfectly healthy and went back to their home in Salford.
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Being able to stay in the House meant the world to us
18 September 2011 was a big day in the life of Bayly-Wall family. This was the day they finally got to take their baby home. But unlike other couples, they delayed this day for almost five months, as their baby boy Tommy developed Gastroschisis while in the womb.
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Lucy’s 20-week routine pregnancy scan revealed that the couple’s unborn baby had a condition called Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia (CDH). They were give three options: do nothing, have a termination or agree to foetal surgery. Find out what decision the young parents made and how their journey developed from there.
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Mother’s Day at Ronald McDonald House Arrowe Park
Mother’s Day for the Acton family will be one to remember this year, as they celebrate with their tiny new additions, Olivia and Reggie, both born 14 weeks premature, at our House in Arrowe Park.
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The Axford family have experienced the benefits of a ‘home away from home’ first hand. Callum Axford was born prematurely with congenital diaphragmic hernia, and spent the first 231 days of his life in hospital.
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Stress levels were still high, and financially we were struggling
Having to travel 250 miles every month for their son’s treatment, the Morcumb family has made a second home of Ronald McDonald House Moorfields. Read more…
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We are eternally grateful to Ronald McDonald House Charities
Kit’s son, Ekam, had to have a bone marrow transplant when he was 6 years old - a difficult and traumatic operation that shook the whole family. Read more about how the family coped with having a child in hospital for more than 3 months.
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We were given the best Christmas present we could have wished for
Keen supporters of our Charity and of our Birmingham House, Lucy and Ben Doughty share their experience and emotional journey. Read their moving story of overcoming fear, staying strong and receiving unexpected support from our House.
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We were enormously touched to find gifts in our room
Thomas is almost a year old now and he lives in Wallingford, Oxfordshire with his mum Emma, dad Simon and his older sister, 3 year-old Sophie. But life as a family of four started in very uncertain and difficult circumstances.
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Staying at the House kept us sane for our son’s liver transplant
Jessica and Clive Barzillia talk about their experience at the Birmingham House while their son, Isaac, was preparing for a liver transplant. They were very lucky to find a donor in a matter of days, but their worries were far from over.
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The House helped us bond with our son
When Jaiden was born 12 weeks premature, Rachel and her partner were devastated. As a young family, nothing could have prepared them for three months in hospital at their baby’s bed side. Luckily, a Ronald McDonald House was near…
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13-year old JJ and his family raise over £15,000 for our House in Oxford
When doctors did not have answers regarding JJ’s illness, the Hine family found comfort in knowing that they can stay near the hospital and be close to JJ, no matter how long it took specialists to establish what was wrong with their boy. They became great supporters of RMHC and continuously raised money for our House in Oxford.
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Read the story of the little girl who started it all. Kim Hill was a three year old girl battling leukemia. Her parents had to sleep in a chair in her hospital room to stay near to her. Her dad Fred Hill, a player for the Philadelphia Eagles, went about setting up the very first Ronald McDonald House in 1974 so other families didn’t have to go through the struggle of being close by to support your child in hospital.
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Family stay strong after more than 85 weeks at Ronald McDonald House Camberwell whilst their baby Amana is in hospital
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100th family to stay at Ronald McDonald House Arrowe Park
Baby Alfie was born 9 weeks premature and immediately placed in an incubator in the special cardiac unit at Arrowe Park. Parents, Brian and Liz, didn’t want to leave Alfie alone, so the Ronald McDonald House, just a two minutes walk from the hospital, was a God-send for the family.
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Mollie runs a mile to support our House in Oxford
Mollie was diagnosed with scaphocephaly. This meant she was at risk of suffering from intracranial pressure, which could lead to seizures, brain damage or even death. She had to go for several appointments at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford which was 120 miles away from home, so the family stayed at the Ronald McDonald House in Oxford each time, and stayed there for longer when they decided to go ahead with the operation.
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Family of five moves in with us at Camberwell
Baby Archer was born by caesarean in Margate Hospital in April 2009. His Mum, Dad and three sisters moved from their home in Canterbury into the Ronald McDonald House in Camberwell, London.
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Brighton House provides a port in the storm for parents of premature triplets
When first-time mum Delia Westgate gave birth to triplets 14 weeks early, she was devastated to hear all three boys were very ill.
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Boy of seven helps raise money for Camberwell House where he stayed
Sam Rowlands was just six when his sister Alice was born with a rare liver condition. When Alice was rushed from Norfolk to King’s College, London - 120 miles away - for treatment, Sam moved in to the Ronald McDonald House next door with mum and dad, Miranda and Paul.