I posted a few months back about my son who passed away when he was one month old. I focused on the loss and wanted to pay tribute to his life. The other day I got a reminder that we weren't the only ones dealing with loss like that at the time and that people are still dealing with it today.
While Jackson was in the hospital, my wife and I were fortunate to live only about a twenty minute drive from the hospital and could stop by whenever we wanted to. We were both at the hospital by his side every day. Even when I had returned to work, I sped to the hospital as soon as I was out in order to get to him.
When he had his surgery at two weeks old to fix part of his intestines, things were touch and go for a while. The amazing social workers at the hospital set us up with a room at the Ronald McDonald House that was literally right inside the hospital. There were seven bedrooms along with a common room with a beautiful seating area and even a kitchenette with a refrigerator and cupboard stocked with food that had all been donated.
My family had never known that such a place existed until we needed it so that we could be as close as possible to our son. We stayed a few nights around the time of the surgery and then returned back to our apartment so that someone else in need would be able to use the “House Within the Hospital”
As I mentioned, the entire operation there was staffed by volunteers and run using donations of food and supplies to give families some semblance of “home” while dealing with very traumatic situations related to the health of their children.
The reminder I got of this was a simple postcard in the mail asking for small monetary donations for the local Ronald McDonald House in Rochester. As this is the one that we stayed it, it is near and dear to our hearts, but any of the local charities is a very worthwhile cause to give to.
My wish is that you would take some of your time and consider donating to this amazing organization. Despite my wishes for no one else to ever have to live through the loss of a child, it happens every day. If everyone in Rochester metropolitan area gave a dollar to the local Ronald McDonald House, it would add up to more than $1,000,000. If everyone in the nation gave a dollar to the charity, it would be over $300 million. That’s a large chunk of change to help people in need and will cost you less than what you paid for your morning coffee or your last fast food meal.