Guest blogger: Kirsty

It was at my 20-week scan in Jersey that we first discovered there was a problem with Kian’s kidneys.

I remember leaving the hospital, thinking so naively, not even really understanding what our kidneys were for, whether we even needed them. Little did I know how much I would end up learning in the future.

We returned to the hospital for another scan later that night, and that’s when it went from bad to worse.

We were told it was unlikely our baby would survive past birth, but we were given hope when they referred us to Southampton Children’s Hospital to see specialists. It was a long way to travel, but not unusual for families living in Jersey who might need different treatments outside of the Channel Islands.

At the end of August 2014, we flew to Southampton. Neither of us had ever been there before, and funnily enough, fast forward to 2023 and we’re rarely away!

Our appointment was at Princess Anne Hospital where they confirmed that Kian had a serious defect in both of his kidneys. They seemed more positive at this appointment, but we did have to come back in a few weeks to see a nephrologist, a doctor who specialises in kidneys.

When we returned, we met Dr Nagra, who would become a vital part of our eight-year journey.

Dr Nagra did an ultrasound of Kian’s kidneys, then sat us down and explained in-depth what was happening. They explained what the kidneys do, and more importantly, what they’re not doing for Kian.

We left the room feeling much better. We had a good understanding of the situation and the treatment options.  

We could give our baby a chance at life.

The rest of my pregnancy was much calmer. I was scanned every two weeks to monitor the amniotic fluid, and there was another scan in Southampton at around 30 weeks. They were all happy with how he was growing and there was enough amniotic fluid which showed his kidneys were working well enough. But at the beginning of December, the fluid reduced, and it was decided that Kian needed to be delivered early at our local hospital.

Shortly after, my partner Shane and I said goodbye to our daughter Mia before heading into the maternity unit excited, yet nervous, to meet our little boy.

Kian was delivered safely that evening.

The following day was busy with lots of tests. Alongside an ultrasound for his kidneys, he needed an echocardiogram for a diagnosed heart murmur, which turned out to be aortic stenosis. The results were sent to Southampton to be reviewed and it was decided that Kian would to be transferred to the Princess Anne Hospital the next morning because of his enlarged kidneys.

I will never forget the kindness and empathy we received from all the team.

The next morning was hard. I said goodbye to Mia and Shane as I boarded the air ambulance with Kian. There were so many wires and cables coming out of the incubator.

I was discharged from the hospital so I could fly with Kian, but this meant I was flying hundreds of miles away to England, with no friends or family, and nowhere to stay.

Kian was settled into the ward and the hospital staff told me that we had a room at the nearby Ronald McDonald House. Like lots of other families, I’d never heard of it before!

As I entered the House, I was greeted by a lovely staff member at reception. They showed me around all the communal areas; the kitchen, the playrooms, the living room, and finally to my room where I would be staying for the foreseeable future.

The Southampton House shares a birthday with Kian, so had only just opened! It gave me a safe space, somewhere I could sleep and eat outside of the hospital and, over the next couple of weeks, it gave us space to be together as a family again – a ‘home away from home’. I remember the Housekeeper Sarah was incredibly kind, providing us bedding for a cot bed for Mia to sleep in. My dad stayed with us and still talks about her kindness eight years later!

Kian was transferred back to our local hospital in Jersey just before Christmas Eve and came home on 28 December, just in time for the New Year.

But in January, during a routine follow-up appointment for his aortic stenosis, Kian had another echocardiogram. He was only expected to need keyhole surgery once he was much bigger, but that couldn’t have been more wrong.

This echocardiogram showed his heart function had changed and he needed open heart surgery urgently. I left that appointment completely shocked; how could things change so quickly?

Unfortunately, this would be something we’d get used to over the years!

On 29 January, we left Jersey again for Southampton, but this time on a normal plane with my mum and sister with me for emotional support while Shane stayed at home with Mia.

Once again, we were very lucky to get a room at Ronald McDonald House Southampton.

That night, I stayed on the ward with Kian, but it really helped to know my mum and sister were so close by. They were able to be with me every step of the way which overwise wouldn’t have been possible.

Kian’s surgery went well, but it was a few days before he was stable. He was kept ventilated in the paediatric intensive care unit (PICU). Though he was stable, the operation had put a huge amount of pressure on his kidneys. They stopped working and he needed some dialysis, but thankfully it was only temporary. His kidneys soon began working on their own again and he was moved back to Ocean Ward.

We were soon discharged and heading home to Jersey, but Kian would still need monthly reviews in Southampton. Every time we were at the hospital, we would come over to the Southampton House and say hello to the team we had grown so friendly with. It was so nice to see friendly, familiar faces.

This routine continued until Kian’s second open heart surgery in 2016. The surgery went to plan, but once again, he needed some temporary dialysis. This time around, there were some post-op complications which kept him in longer, but overall, it went well and we headed home before needing to return in the summer for a percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) feeding tube. For possibly the first time ever Kian began to thrive, he was growing well and staying out of hospital.

But this only lasted until 2019, when his kidney function reached the point that it was time to refer him to Evelina London Children’s Hospital to start working him up for a transplant.

Shane and I had hoped to donate one of our kidneys to him, but we soon found out that neither of us was a match and Kian had developed a huge number of antibodies making him a very difficult match.

Then in 2020, Covid struck and the whole world went into lockdown. Kian was classed as vulnerable because of his degree of kidney failure, meaning he was to stay at home and keep safe.

But by the summer of the first year of the pandemic, Kian was admitted to Southampton Children’s Hospital again and it was time to start dialysis. Kian had been ready to be activated on the transplant list just prior to the pandemic, but there were delays due to Covid.

We were really looking forward to getting back home, so when Kian had a peritoneal dialysis (PD) catheter fitted in July, we were trained on how to administer the dialysis and headed back to Jersey in August.

Kian was on PD for six months, but during that time, he suffered from numerous complications which meant several trips to the hospital, lots of theatre admissions and lots of infections.

More difficulties followed, as in March 2021, he was to be started on haemodialysis. This was extremely hard as it wasn’t possible to do it in Jersey, so it meant flying back and forth twice a week to Southampton. But because of Covid, we were unable to fly back and forth whilst the country had restrictions in place, so we ended up moving to Southampton for three months.

It was frustrating as the in-unit haemodialysis was only supposed to be temporary while we awaited training for home haemodialysis. But like everything else, Covid played its part in delaying this too, and it had never been done in Jersey before so there was a very long delay in getting things into place.

As soon as the flying restrictions eased, the next 18 months were spent travelling back and forth for in-unit dialysis.

Ronald McDonald House in Southampton was so lovely and accommodating, trying to make the whole situation easier on us, but ultimately it was hard and it took its toll on all of us…

…The long days, the early starts… Kian needed more dialysis to enable him fewer restrictions, but this wasn’t physically possible for any of us.

Finally, in November 2022, nearly eight years since we began this journey, we arrived at Great Ormond Street Hospital to learn how to administer home haemodialysis.

It was an intense five-week course. I remember seeing that machine for the first time and thinking, “we’re never going to manage this… How are we supposed to remember where all the bits connect to?!”.

It was a lot, but it was worth it.

Kian would now have 16 hours of dialysis instead of eight, meaning he could eat what he wanted for the first time in years. He loves meat but hadn’t been able to eat it often because he had been on a low-protein diet. His medication was also reduced to almost nothing! The evening of his 8th birthday was the first birthday he’d gone to bed not connected to an overnight feeding pump since he turned one.

We returned to Jersey just in time for Christmas. His first session of home haemodialysis was on 19 December. We had Laura, a nurse from Great Ormond Street, over to support us as well as our lovely community nursing team.

Over the next month, we got into more of a routine. Kian had four, four-hour sessions of dialysis a week. It seemed a lot, but it was so nice to be home and not flying back and forth all the time.

On 19 January 2023, at 11:34pm, Dr Nagra called.

It was THE call.

The one we had waited 865 days for.

There was a kidney for Kian.

The next few hours were intense. Before I knew it, we were boarding the air ambulance to Luton, where an ambulance was waiting to take us safely and quickly to Evelina London Children’s Hospital.

In less than six hours, we had travelled more than 280 miles.

At 2:40pm Kian headed into the theatre to receive his new kidney.

Six hours later, he was back on the ward. The operation had gone well. The kidney was the perfect size for him and was described as a ‘miracle’ by several medical professionals. To us, it will always be our very own miracle. Kain’s antibodies meant we all expected he’d wait much longer than this. I thought he’d spend his whole childhood on dialysis. We are truly grateful for this wonderful gift of life.

One week post-transplant, Kian was transferred to Southampton Children’s Hospital to continue his recovery and we all stayed at the Ronald McDonald House in between hospital appointments and check-ups.

Kian is now six weeks post-transplant. There have been a few bumps along the way (but let’s face it – it was never going to be plain sailing with Kian!).

We’re still in Ronald McDonald House Southampton but hope to be home in the not-too-distant future. Kian has enjoyed being able to stay at the House and loves the pool table the most! It’s given us both a safe place to call home. We’ve had family stay with us, we’ve laughed, we’ve cried and had some much-needed time together outside of the hospital.

The last eight years we’ve been supported by many different people and charities. We will never forget their kindness, compassion, and empathy. We are eternally grateful.

The kidney he received was from a paediatric donor.

I cannot put into words just how grateful we are to the parents who, at the most heartbreaking time of their lives, made the most selfless decision to give our son the gift of life.

On 4 September 2018, our daughter Poppy was born in Salisbury District Hospital.

After a failed induction and during an emergency forceps delivery, Poppy’s oxygen levels and heart rate began drop. Poppy was delivered under a general anaesthetic caesarean section.

I had a short cuddle with Poppy whilst Jem was recovering from the operation and then she was whisked away to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).

After monitoring her for a while, the decision was made that Poppy would be moved to the high dependency unit (HDU) at Southampton Children’s Hospital, about a 45-minute drive from where Poppy was currently being cared.

Heartbreakingly, Jem had to stay behind whilst I followed the ambulance to be with Poppy.

During this journey, doctors decided to start therapeutically cooling Poppy to help aid brain healing. After arriving at the hospital, the next day it was discovered that she had a bleed between her brain and her skull, her skull and her scalp… because of this, the cooling had to be stopped and the outcome of Poppy’s brain recovery was unknown.

She underwent numerous electroencephalograms (EEGs) and computerised tomography (CT) scans to determine if there was any long-term damage.

On day three, we were incredibly lucky to be referred to the Ronald McDonald House in Southampton. Living in Amesbury meant if we didn’t have the free ‘home away from home’ accommodation just across the road, we would be doing a three-hour round trip every day to be by Poppy’s side. Thankfully, having the House meant we were there for anything, especially emergencies.

Over the next few days, Poppy began needing less one-to-one care and was moved to a lower dependency NICU, but the next morning we arrived to see doctors and nurses surrounding her bed. Scans showed that Poppy’s small intestine had perforated because of the lack of oxygen causing her intestine to die. Emergency surgery was carried out to remove 30cm of Poppy’s small intestine… Thankfully we were at the Ronald McDonald House, so instead of being over an hour drive away, we were just a short walk away.

Despite the rollercoaster ride we found ourselves on, Poppy survived and she has grown into an amazingly cheeky three-year-old girl. We thank our lucky stars every single day.

During our time at Southampton, we were so grateful for the amazing team at Ronald McDonald House Charities UK. They made us feel welcome from the moment we stepped through the doors. They already knew our names, they knew about Poppy… we felt relieved (well, as relieved as we could in the circumstances). The staff showed us around the House where we had our own cupboard and fridge space in the communal kitchen, as well as a shared lounge and washing facilities.

But apart from having somewhere to rest and be close to Poppy, the House allowed Jem to care for her by expressing milk through the night and storing it so Poppy could be fed. Poppy was nil by mouth for the first ten days of her life, so being able to store and collect milk meant as soon as she was ready, the milk was too.

Even now, three years later, we still pop back into the House to drop off toys and goodies. Some of the staff still remember Jem’s name!

If your child is going through something similar, please remember they are in the best place possible. Rest assured that the amazing staff who work for our NHS will do everything they can to look after your child. Meanwhile, the amazing staff at Ronald McDonald House Charities UK will do everything they can to look after you. You need it.

I’m running the London Marathon in October to raise money for this incredible charity because they cannot survive on the small sum of £25 (which is optional to donate!) when you give a key deposit in for the House.

We had no idea about the amazing work that Ronald McDonald House Charities UK does, we never thought to put our loose change into the collection pots at a McDonald’s, but now – not only do we drop in our spare change when we have a sneaky McDonald’s (…not the best for marathon training I might add…) but we also give monthly.

We encourage all our friends and family to do the same and donate all they can because it is such an important cause.

Meet two mums who have experienced this first hand.

“I found out during our pregnancy in 2019 that Zeke had a high chance of having Down Syndrome. There were a lot of complications and we were transferred to Princess Anne Hospital about halfway through the pregnancy where we were told that if Zeke was born alive they would only be able to provide end-of-life care for him…

“Around this time the Positive About Down Syndrome Great Expectations group was set up and I received some amazing support from our lovely group of PADS aunties who cheered him on all the way to 36 weeks when he was delivered. He smashed all our expectations, surviving major surgery at just one day old!

“One of the support team in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) told us about Ronald McDonald House Southampton and I was able to stay there with my husband and toddler while Zeke was being cared for in the hospital.

“It made such a difference being able to all stay together and to have our lovely little room to go back to while we were there with Zeke, especially as I couldn’t drive post-c-section.

“The team at Ronald McDonald House Southampton were so thoughtful. I remember waking up to a bag of chocolate hearts on Valentine’s Day after a particularly difficult night. ❤️”

“Our daughter Grace was born with Down Syndrome and a heart defect. We knew about Grace’s heart condition since she was born, but it was decided last year that she would need surgery at Evelina London Children’s Hospital. We only had about a week’s notice, so it was a rush to get everything together.

“When we arrived at the Ronald McDonald House Evelina London, someone came out to greet us in our taxi. We were welcomed like friends which helped as I was so apprehensive about what was to come with the surgery. Anything we needed or wanted to know was dealt with straight away.

“The House itself has everything you need to feel comfortable while away from home. It’s very well thought-out. It was nice being able to meet other families and support each other, knowing that people really understood. There were playrooms for our children as well, which they absolutely loved.

“We can’t fault the House at all!

“The House meant I was able to have family there to support me while I was in the hospital with Grace, which meant I wasn’t parted from my other children.”

On 27 November, we almost lost our little girl.

I strapped Layla into her car seat and prepared for us to head out. It was nearly December, the neighbours decorations were starting to go up outside their houses and it was beginning to feel a lot like Christmas.

But suddenly she started choking in her seat.

I had to act quickly. She stopped breathing and went into cardiac arrest. I called 999, ran to our neighbour’s house for help (thank you Dawn) and the first responder arrived in four minutes.

The longest four minutes of my life!

On the way to our local hospital on the Isle of Wight, Layla received lifesaving CPR that carried on in the hospital – a total of 19 minutes.

Layla had to be transferred to a paediatric intensive care unit (PICU) in Southampton Children’s Hospital
She went on to spend 10 days fighting, and fight she did!

Living on the Isle of Wight meant that travelling to and from home was incredibly time consuming, not to mention expensive! Not only would we have to drive, but we would have to get the ferry as well.

Thankfully, we heard about Ronald McDonald House Charities UK and we were lucky enough to get a room and be able to stay at Ronald McDonald House Southampton whilst Layla was receiving treatment.

Staying in the Ronald McDonald House meant we were able to stay close to Layla during her recovery and that we wouldn’t need to keep going back and forth every day. It saved so much time – time that we could spend with Layla instead.

Layla was put under sedation and on a ventilator, but she was making good progress.

Tests, tests and a few more tests! CT scan, multiple MRI scans, electrocardiogram (ECG), electroencephalogram (EEG), genetics test, full x-rays, brain monitoring and a blood transfusion. My head was spinning from it all.

After making good progress, Layla was then transferred briefly to the high dependency unit (HDU) and then went on to the children’s neurology ward. Each day she made more and more progress and the doctors were happy with how well she was recovering.

Home was within sight and Christmas just around the corner.

We stayed in Ronald McDonald House Southampton for a total of 18 days. We’ve now been transferred back to our local hospital on the Isle of Wight.

We are so grateful we were able to stay so close to Layla during those touch and go days in Southampton. The House was just around the corner from her ward, so we could see her as much as we wanted without long journeys and ferry rides.

We were also helped by the equally amazing Daisy Chains charity, who helped us with travel costs for travelling to and from the island. This meant we were able to still see our other child, Hayden, and support my amazing mum who was able to move into our house to care for him whilst we weren’t able to be at home.

Layla will stay at our local hospital for now and still has a feeding tube. She will need to learn how to feed again. She also needs a follow up MRI and other tests as she may have sustained some small (hopefully short-term) alterations in her brain.

But things are looking really good and Layla is dong incredibly well.

So well in fact, that we are hoping to take Layla home – just in time for Christmas!

I was born and raised in Portland, Victoria, Australia. When I was seven, and my brother was nine, he was diagnosed with a brain tumour. It was a complete shock to our whole family and we all remember thinking ‘What next?’

We soon discovered Ronald McDonald House Parkville in Melbourne. As we lived far from the hospital that was treating my brother, we moved to the Parkville House where we stayed on and off for the best part of four and a half years.

The House became like home for us – and almost like a holiday. I was going to school in Melbourne whilst my brother was having treatment. We had to create a ‘new normal’ for a significant chunk of time, and RMHC played a huge part in helping us do that. The staff there did so much for us, and we became really close to many of them. I remember as a kid, trying to bribe the House Assistant to give us chocolate bars!

Luckily, my brother completed his treatment successfully and we said goodbye to the House which had been such an important part of our experience as a family, navigating through my brother’s illness. I have great memories from the kindness that was shown to us, and our family were so thankful, but I never thought I would cross paths with RMHC again in the way that I have.

I was working on a farm selling livestock when I met my English girlfriend, Rebecca, who was travelling and working in Australia. In May 2017, we decided to go back to the UK, which gave me the opportunity to work and experience life in another country. Rebecca and I were living in Northampton when she secured a place on a postgraduate nursing degree in Southampton. We made the move down south which is when I discovered the Ronald McDonald Southampton House.

It’s quite incredible how my experience with Ronald McDonald House Charities has come full circle. When I applied for my job in the Southampton House, I felt so strongly that I could make a positive difference, largely based on my own personal experience with the charity in Australia. Working in a place which gave my family and I so much support so many years ago, albeit many miles away, is a privilege. When I see a new family walk through our doors in Southampton, I remember the feelings of comfort the House brought me and my family at such an uncertain time. This has helped me do the best job I can in supporting families in the Southampton House.

See Billy explain why he chose to work for Ronald McDonald House Charities UK:

“There’s always someone about for a cuppa”

On 12 June, Joe was rushed to Southampton General Hospital by air ambulance after falling from the fourth floor of a multi-story car park.

Joe was in a critical condition and was taken to the paediatric intensive care unit with multiple fractures to his limbs, pelvis, back and head.

We found out about the Ronald McDonald House Southampton when PICU staff told us in the early evening that they had already arranged for us to have a room at the House. At this point we were not sure what to expect, but we were so grateful that we had somewhere close by to Joe that we could try and get some rest.

When we first walked into the House, we were still feeling pretty numb and in shock, but the staff at the House were very welcoming and sympathetic towards our situation. It was nice to have our own space to come back to after long days and nights on the ward.

Throughout the months spent in the hospital, Joe was moved from PICU to the Paediatric Medical Unit, a less intense unit, as he began to progress with his recovery. The fact that we are able to be so close to Joe at all times meant us and our other family members have one less worry knowing that we are settled and using good accommodation.

On Joe’s fifteenth birthday, our extended family were able to visit from Portsmouth to come and see us and Joe to share the day with him and see him open his presents.

Being able to be so close to the hospital has had a massive impact in that we can be on hand to support the ward staff with Joe’s treatments and it is good for Joe to know that we are never far away.

Our main memories of being at the House will always be, just how caring and supportive the team are. There’s always someone about for a cuppa and a chat!

We are so glad we can stay at the House as long as we need. If we couldn’t stay, we would need to travel to Southampton from Portsmouth daily as paying for a hotel or B&B just wouldn’t be financially viable.

If anyone feels they would like to donate to or fundraise for such an important cause it’s a great idea. Any help to keep this Charity running is crucial in view of how much it helps and supports families in need of this accommodation.

In life things often do not go to plan and that is what happened to Jace and his family. What was supposed to be a routine day surgical procedure quickly turned into a life-threatening event that saw them staying in the hospital for nearly a week, miles away from their home. That would be enough to throw any family off track, but this one was only just coming out of a life-changing trauma and Jace’s mum, in particular, had to find more strength to cope with what was happening. This is the story of Jace and his family who stayed at Ronald McDonald House Southampton after things took an unexpected turn for the worst.

Jace and his family live in Oxford, and he was born healthy and happy. This was what his mum, Kylie, hoped for, but she feared that something would go wrong. When she was 22 weeks pregnant, Kylie was involved in a massive road accident. She was hit by a coach as she was getting out of her car and was dragged along the street. Kylie was badly bruised and suffered four fractures to her right arm, but miraculously the doctors said her baby was okay. She was in a lot of pain, had to have surgery and was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but she remained strong and tried to dispel her fears that something would be wrong when Jace was born.

“I was determined to remain focused and make sure I was healthy and ready for when Jace was born,” recalls Kylie. “When he was born, because I’m right-handed and my injuries were still healing, I struggled to feed him, hold him and bathe him. I still thought something could be wrong with him and I had difficulty accepting that he was here and was healthy and that everything was okay. I was suffering from bad anxiety and feeling the effects of my accident. I was determined to make everything okay, but it all came crashing down. Then when Jace was about two months old he had an ear infection and it was the first of many – he must have had about 10 ear infections in the space of eight months! It was a really tough time.”

It was during an examination for a suspected ear infection when Jace was about 10 months old that a doctor thought they heard a heart murmur, which was later diagnosed as a Patent Ductus Arteriosus (PDA). The Ductus Arteriosus is an extra blood vessel that should shrink and close on its own during a baby’s first few days of life, but Jace’s had remained open and this was causing extra blood to flow to his lungs.

PDA is a common heart defect that required Jace to have a simple catheter-based procedure that would insert a device to plug the hole. The operation is carried out under general anaesthetic and is a fairly quick procedure that requires no overnight stay.

But Jace’s parents were shocked when they discovered that they would have to travel to Southampton Children’s Hospital for the surgery.

“We were really surprised because John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford is a leading hospital in the UK, and we were speaking to a paediatric cardiac surgeon,” recalls Kylie.

“It was scary being told that Jace needed an operation and I felt daunted by the idea of being so far away from home, even though it was only for one day. Due to my PTSD, I felt anxious about travelling there in a car and going on the roads and I kept thinking about what we were going to face with my little boy. But I was strong and got through it. I had to be there for him, so I pushed my fears aside.

“At Southampton, the operation went well but when Jace was in recovery there was a concern that he wasn’t very responsive and during an examination, a nurse said she couldn’t find a pulse in his feet. The surgeon advised that the PDA device had become dislodged and was stopping Jace’s blood flow and that there was a possibility that his legs would need to be amputated! They rushed him back into surgery to open him up across his tummy to find the device and re-fit it. We waited and hoped for the best outcome and were greatly relieved to be told that the operation was successful.”

After the surgery, Jace was in the hospital for six days starting in the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit. “What was meant to be a simple day surgery turned into a hellish week,” recalled Kylie. “When it all went wrong it became a nightmare and a big blur. It affected me again. After Jace was born, I came to terms with him being well and here but seeing him clutching to life by his fingertips made me feel like I was right back where I started.”

It was late by the time Jace was out of surgery and settled. The hospital put Kylie and her dad in a room for the night close to the ward. While her one-year-old daughter Amaya stayed with her husband in a shared house located close to the hospital. The family then had to figure out what to do for the rest of the week.

Kylie said: “My dad told us not to worry and that he’d look after Amaya for as long as we needed but he had only taken one day off work to help out. Then a nurse recommended Ronald McDonald House Southampton and said we could all stay there, and it was on-site at the hospital. There wasn’t space for us immediately, but a room did become available and we jumped at the opportunity. By that time my dad had returned to Oxford with Amaya, but my husband wanted her with us. My anxiety levels were high, and I didn’t want my family out of my sight. I worried about something going wrong, like them being involved in a car accident while travelling home or to the hospital.”

Ronald McDonald House Southampton was built on the hospital grounds in 2014 and it has 53 bedrooms to support families receiving specialist neonatal and paediatric treatment at Southampton Children’s Hospital.

“Staying at the House allowed us to stay together as a family,” commented Kylie. “The staff were very friendly, and they explained everything while showing us around. It was like a hotel. It took away the hospital feel from the situation, which allowed us to shut-off but also be close-by should Jace need us. The room was clean and well-kept. It had two single beds with pull-out beds underneath, which Amaya found amazing! She really enjoyed staying in the House. There was a family room with a TV, books and games. She met other children and played with them. There were also shared kitchens and laundry facilities.

“For me, the House was a place I could relax away from the hospital ward, try not to worry and have a proper shower. I met families in the House who had been living there for several months while caring for their child. Thankfully we only needed it for a short time, but it would have been stressful without the House. I would have stayed by Jace’s bedside no matter what, but that wouldn’t be practical for us all. We would have been separated, but the House enabled us to stay together.

“The House is like a home from home and it’s wonderful that it’s provided to families free of charge.

“Being at the hospital; eating and paying for parking gets expensive and adding the cost of a hotel or B&B alongside your mortgage and other costs just wouldn’t be possible for most people.”

Jace recovered well after the surgery and after nearly a week in Southampton Children’s Hospital, the family returned to Oxford.

“Jace is now three-years-old and has had no problems – he will lead a normal, active life,” said Kylie.

“Jace stopped having ear infections and so that was resolved too. For me, it’s an ongoing recovery. I had the metal plates that were inserted into my arm after the accident removed just over a month ago.”

“Though it was a difficult period, I look back on my time in the House and think what an amazing charity it is. I often tell people about it. I’ve donated toys and I put money in the collection boxes when I’m in McDonald’s. We made friends in the House and keep in touch with them via social media. We all went through a tough time, but most much worse than us. It’s really lovely to see photos of their children celebrating birthdays and living healthy and happy lives.”

“I was diagnosed with intestinal failure and my local hospital was unable to manage my nutrition, so I ended up being admitted to Southampton Children’s Hospital, 30 miles away from home, for a more intensive treatment. As part of the treatment, I needed to have a central line placed and IV nutrition fed through. What was meant to be a short admission soon became a lengthy one due to blood clots, gastrointestinal bleeds, complex medication interaction and lack of stability. My family and I coped by surrounding ourselves with friends and doing as much as we could to keep up a normal routine.

“We had friends who had previously stayed at a Ronald McDonald House, so when our nurse suggested us going over on a daily basis to make use of the facilities, it was exactly what we needed!

“Whenever we were at the House we were always made to feel really welcome and at ease. Moments that really stand out were using the kitchens to bake cakes for the ward nurses and being able to have friends visit and taking part in crafts. One time when we were at the House, I became very unwell but thankfully the House is just minutes away from the ward so I was rushed back over to the hospital. We were grateful to be so close!

“It was important that we had times to escape from an environment so medical and clinical to a ‘home away from home’, where my dad was able to work remotely and we could have times watching a movie together and just having fun as a family.

“If we weren’t able to access the House on a daily basis, it would have made the whole ordeal a lot more difficult. It would have financially been more expensive, so being able to cook at the House and do our laundry was amazing. It would have also meant not being able to see family and friends as much and it would have been a struggle to have breaks away from the ward.

“My family and I have since visited the House to offer donations of much-needed items that help to keep the House going. If anyone is thinking of donating money or time by volunteering to this great Charity then I would say it is absolutely worth it as it really does help change the lives of so many families”.

Loraya’s dad Colin and I live in Milton Keynes, but when we found out our daughter was to be born with a serious heart condition, we needed to travel over 100 miles to Oxford so that she could be born safely.

We were told that Loraya had Tetralogy of Fallot and Exomphalos while I was still pregnant – not that it made anything easier. She was born at 36 weeks, and soon after we found out that not only did she have her heart conditions, she also had issues with her oesophagus, meaning she needed urgent surgery at birth. For this, she was transferred to Southampton Children’s Hospital, a further 70 miles away. As soon as she arrived, she was put into paediatric intensive care.

Loraya was then transferred back to Oxford where we stayed at the Ronald McDonald House on the top floor of John’s Radcliffe Hospital, from there we were transferred again back to our local hospital in Milton Keynes. Loraya was able to come home at nine weeks old, but sadly only managed a few weeks at home before needing to come back to Southampton.

Loraya has endured two heart surgeries and after which we have since found out she also has Tracheomalacia, Vocal Cord Palsy and an unsafe swallow so she is tube fed as well as being CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) dependant.

We were lucky to be offered free family accommodation next to the children’s hospital thanks to Ronald McDonald House Charities UK. We didn’t realise what a long road it would be, but Ronald McDonald House Southampton has been there for us, keeping our family together.

We were so relieved that there was such a lovely place for us to be able to stay so close to our daughter. Our other children Hamir, Aliarna and Layson also came to stay with us at different times throughout the months we spent at the House. It was so nice to have our children close at a difficult time as it bought back a sense of normality. Aliarna and Layson even spent some time at one of the local schools while our life had temporarily moved to Southampton.

We’ve been transferred back to our local hospital in Milton Keynes, where we need to wait until Loraya is well enough to come home.

Staying at the Southampton and Oxford House created some lovely memories as well as being a stressful time. Some really stand out ones are the events and parties that the House team put on, such as the Pirate Party and the celebrations for Easter! We also spent Layson’s fifth birthday in the Southampton House, so the House team got him a present and card and made it so special for him.

If we didn’t have a room at the House to call our own, I don’t know what we would have done. We would have had to have slept in waiting rooms to be near to our poorly daughter or we would have needed to leave Loraya in Southampton while we travelled home hours away, which would have been devastating to us.

The Ronald McDonald House is a lifeline to so many. The staff are amazing and without the House, I honestly have no idea what we would have done. Thank you for everything. Anyone thinking of donating to Ronald McDonald House Charities UK, please do!

It was a nice, sunny evening in May, so we thought we would take our two children Mackenzie and Ellie to the park to ride their bikes after school. We were all having a nice time until Mackenzie happened to get into difficulty on his bike, falling over the handlebars with the bike landing on top of him and the handlebars hitting him hard in his tummy. Straight away we called 111 to ask for advice on what we should do. They told us to take Mackenzie over to the hospital as soon as we could. We ended up getting caught in a road closure on the route so had to take a detour which took us an extra hour to get to the hospital. Upon arriving at our local hospital they transferred us via ambulance to Southampton General Hospital where Mackenzie was then admitted to the Paediatric High Dependency Unit.

Mackenzie had suddenly gone from finishing school for the day, being a healthy nine-year-old and having a great time with his sister, to laying in a hospital bed in a critical condition. After lots of tests, x-rays, ultrasounds and a CT scan it was discovered that Mackenzie had a hole in his bowel. He was then rushed into surgery for a major operation lasting three hours. He had to stay in recovery for an additional six hours as the medical team were having difficulty in stabilising him after such an invasive surgery. Mackenzie’s lungs also ended up collapsing which added to our worry and cemented the need for us to be close to our son whilst he was going through this terrifying ordeal.

Whilst on the High Dependency Unit, one of the nurses looking after Mackenzie referred us to the Ronald McDonald House for accommodation. I was still wearing my clothes from the previous day at work and having spent 36 hours awake, I was exhausted.

Walking into the Southampton House I was still in shock about the accident and felt like a complete emotional wreck, but the warmth and kindness shown to us by the House team was just what we needed. We were given a tour of the House and shown all the facilities that were available for us to use. Having turned up at the House with not much, we were offered a choice of toiletries for free – it was such a relief to have a shower and freshen up!

Our daughter Ellie stayed with us at the House the whole time, which was really important to us. She has such a close connection with her brother that we’re sure having Ellie around really aided in Mackenzie’s recovery.

On numerous occasions throughout our stay I burst into tears when the House staff asked how we were doing, each time the staff were so caring and supportive which was lovely. The first time we were allowed to take Mackenzie off the ward for a little while, we bought him over to the House in a wheelchair for an hour and showed him around where we had been staying. We were able to spend time as a family and play in the games room together. It was also brilliant to provide Ellie with some normality and being able to cook and have a meal together was great!

After ten nights, Mackenzie was doing well enough to be discharged and we could finally head home. He still has a long road ahead but with the support of district nurses coming to our home every 48 hours to pack the wound and apply fresh dressings, we are able to manage from home. We are still waiting and hoping that Mackenzie’s injury will heal successfully otherwise he will need further surgery in the future.

Mackenzie will need to attend appointments at Southampton General Hospital for a few months so we will make sure we pop into the House to say hello to the staff that supported us through a difficult time for our family.

Please support this vital Charity! They really do help families through traumatic times. I don’t quite know how we would have coped, but without the support of Ronald McDonald House Charities UK, I think it would have broken us!