I would like to take this opportunity to explain how the Ronald McDonald House has played a significant role in my family’s ability to provide the best medical care for my son Maximilian.
My son had a cerebral vascular accident or stroke in the hospital in Orlando, Florida at two days old. While in the nursery, he aspirated on vomit and lost oxygen long enough for his tiny blood vessels to rupture causing permanent neuromuscular damage to the left side of his body. Fortunately, he is cognitively intact, however he will need physical and occupational therapy his entire childhood.
One of the best pediatric therapy centers in the world is located in Birmingham. Maximilian has been a patient here at UAB since he was fourteen months old. The course of treatment is a two week intensive occupational and physical therapy session.
However, we live in Cumming, Georgia and are not be able to afford a hotel stay of 13 days for each session. Currently we come for treatment two to three times per year and that would equate to approximately $6,000 in hotel costs alone.
In my opinion, the care he receives at UAB outweighs any treatment he has received elsewhere and in order for him to continue to progress, we rely on the ability to stay at the Ronald McDonald House.
Another benefit to having the Ronald McDonald House available to our family while our son is receive treatment is safety. I travel alone to Birmingham with Max who is five and my other son Sebastian who is eleven. I always feel safe while staying at the Ronald McDonald House and appreciate the ability to stay there for meals, especially in the winter when it is dark at 4:50 pm.
The Ronald McDonald House has been an integral part of my son’s medical care for the past three years since he would not have been able to receive the specialized treatment without the facility available to us.
