Meet Our Families

When the Tears Came

On May second, Olivia Grube abruptly went into labor at 36 weeks and delivered a 6 pound son, Brett, in Hilton Head. The doctors immediately noticed breathing issues. Because the winds were too high for a helicopter, he was rushed by ambulance to MUSC. Pneumonia was diagnosed and he was put on a ventilator and 10 days of antibiotics. A heart problem was also noted which will require surgery within a few weeks.

Olivia's husband and daughter followed the ambulance and she was brought up a day later. For three days she stayed in a Holiday Inn; she was not allowed to touch the baby for five days. Seeing him, she wanted him to smell like a baby, not plastic. But she never did cry until she got a room at the Ronald McDonald House where everyone was so kind and it was like back home where you could come down in your pajamas to get a glass of milk. There was also plenty of fresh food and new friends.

Olivia is now taking CPR and Oxygen classes, nursing Brett, and confidently says, "If there's anything not right, the medical unit will find it." Now her hope is that when she and Brett come back for the heart surgery, a room will be waiting for her at the Ronald McDonald House.

It Takes A Village

Eva Evans, age 5, born with her heart on the right side and half of it hypoplastic, has just undergone her third heart surgery. The first when she was nine days old. Despite a slight setback she is now out of ICU and the MUSC doctors feel she should have a normal life. Eva has an above average IQ and loves gymnastics, horseback riding, and especially her new puppy.

But besides the team of skilled professionals there is a whole cast of characters assisting in her recovery. Her parents, Jamie and Donald, and their two year old son, Landon, who will remain at the Ronald McDonald House for the full four to six weeks of Eva's convalescence. Donald has a part time job. His boss, who had lost a child, told him "to stay as long as you need to." He calls them every day. The grandparents come every week, bringing new pictures of the puppy for Eva, and to take Landon out to give him a normal two year old life.

The Evans have a farm with a horse, goats, sheep and guinea pigs. Six friends and neighbors have banded together, one each week, to look after the animals. One of the helpers is simply an acquaintance who Jamie met in a cake decorating class. Jamie's aunt is now living on the farm to look after the house, the dogs and cats.

The Evans find comfort and safety at the Ronald McDonald House. It is here that they get to know other parents and share experiences. It is here too that they are comforted by staff and volunteers. This allows them to "live a normal life" during a strenuous time. And finally in little Eva's life is her therapy dog that she "loves all over!"

Big Sister Helps

"Sydney was born prematurely on September 22, 2006. She spent 9 weeks in NICU and her family spent 6 weeks at the Ronald McDonald House. The Ronald McDonald House provided us with a Home to come to where our family could be together. If it was not for the Ronald McDonald House, we would have had to leave Sydney at the hospital to be at our home to care for Sydney's big sister, Morgan. Morgan loved being at the House while she helped "nurse" Sydney back to health. We have made wonderful friends while staying in the Ronald McDonald house, friends that share some of the same experiences that we have endured."

An answer to our prayers

In the summer of 2009, our family was thrilled to learn of two more additions to our family. We are already blessed with four amazing children, so the thought of twins was so very exciting. Unfortunately, Cassie endured a very difficult pregnancy while carrying our twin boys. She was placed on bed rest, underwent several types of treatment to minimize the contractions and endured several trips to the hospital during this time. On December 2, 2009 she was admitted to Hilton Head Island Regional Medical Center. The doctors felt her contractions were too strong and too frequent, so she was rushed via ambulance through torrential rains and over 45 mph winds to MUSC in Charleston since they are the closest level three facility that can care for premature infants. Since we had been admitted and released a couple of times previously, we thought this trip would have the same result. However, on the morning of December 5, 2009, Cassie's doctors realized she was having contractions every 4-5 minutes and there was no stopping them. She was immediately prepped for an emergency cesarean section. Cross Maddox Krupa and Christian Burke Krupa were welcomed into the world at 12:41 p.m. and 12:42 p.m. respectively. They weighed only 2 lbs. 7 ounces and 2 lbs. 6 ounces and measured only 14 inches in length. They were only 27 weeks 6 days gestational age at the time of their birth.

The range of emotions we shared during this time are indescribable. We were 120 miles away from our children, family and friends. We were alone in a hospital room while Cassie was recovering from her extensive surgery; all the while, our boys were fighting for their lives in the NNICU. We had more questions than answers and were truly overwhelmed with all that had just transpired. The second morning after their birth, Christian experienced a pulmonary hemmorrage which also caused a grade 2 bleed on his brain. We rushed up to the NNICU to see our boy and pray for the medical staff to work with him to keep him alive. Our prayers were answered and Christian was stabilized but still had a long road to recovery and there was no guarantee of his survival. We spent that entire day praying for Cassie and the boys. Since Cassie was still required to stay in bed, I would make trips to the NNICU to see Cross and Christian and report any updates back to Cassie while she layed in her hospital room.

On Monday morning, we were informed that we would be discharged the following morning. Discharged?? We didn't know what we were going to do or where we where going to go. We knew that the boys would be in the NNICU for a lengthy period of time as they continued to grow and develop, but where would we stay? We couldn't make the trip to and from Hilton Head Island each and every day. Fortunately, a nurse who cared for Cassie when we first arrived stopped by for a visit. She was so insightful and supportive and mentioned the Ronald McDonald House. Cassie called immediately and spoke with Alan, only to find out that there was no vacancy and we would have to be placed on a waiting list. Needless to say, after all that we had been through, we were greatly disappointed and it drained us even more emotionally. We were less than 24 hours from discharge and we had no place to stay. So, we prayed like we always do.

As if God was in the room with us, the phone range just a short while later. It was Alan calling back from the RMH. He informed me that a room had just come available and he asked if we were still interested. We told him "YES! YES! YES!" and I ran from our room at the hospital to the RHM to fill out all the necessary paperwork and get a key to our room. Needless to say, as we found out in the later days, weeks and months, the RMH was truly an answer to our prayers.

RMH was there for three heart surgeries

My family and I became acquainted with the Ronald McDonald House in 1999 when my son, Nehemia was born with various heart problems. These complications required him to have three open-heart surgeries with the third and final surgery resulting in a heart transplant.

It was comforting to know that when needed you have a "home away from home" in the Ronald McDonald House. The staff was very compassionate, generous and understanding. My family benefited greatly by staying at the Ronald House during our time of crisis. The House is a haven of rejuvenation after many hours of anticipation, grief and pain spent daily at the hospital. The Ronald McDonald House is within walking distance from the hospital, which makes it very convenient when you receive that call from doctors to return immediately to the hospital. The Ronald McDonald House assists families financially in numerous ways. Families can do their laundry, eat a well-prepared meal for dinner provided daily by various churches and other organizations. Additionally, the daily rate for housing is very minimal compared to even the cheapest hotel fee. I feel confident that whatever support we can give to the Ronald McDonald House will be used to help others in their time of need.

Today, Nehemia is doing is doing great!

Randy Grayson
Andrews, South Carolina

Yo me siento agradecida

Adriana, my second daughter, seemed to be a healthy and strong girl at birth. Unfortunately, five days later, a small red mark appeared on her forehead and left eyelid, which grew daily. It was a vascular malformation, a benign tumor growth known as hemangioma. In Peru, our country of birth, doctors recommended a watchful-waiting approach in hopes that it would disappear. However, the hemangioma kept growing in size to the point it blocked Adriana's left eyesight, increasing the risk of permanent loss of her eyesight due to an anomaly called ambliopia. I became extremely worried about her situation, and started researching about this condition on the internet. That is how I was able to contact The Hemangioma Treatment Foundation, led by Dr. Hochman. He gave hope to me and my family. If we could get to Adriana to Charleston, Dr. Hochman would treat her for free. The plan included one or more surgeries to remove the hemangioma and multiple laser sessions to make the area of redness disappear. With a solution to Adriana's problem within reach, our concerns shifted to how to get to Charleston and where to live during Adriana's treatment. Thanks to the generosity of the Ronald McDonald House of Charleston, we had a place to live during Adriana's long and difficult treatments.

Yo me siento agradecida y muy contenta de saber que aun existan personas que con tanto desprendimiento y voluntad ayudan a otras que estan necesitadas. Espero que esto crezca aun mas y que mas ninos y familias puedan alcanzar sus suenos de una vida sana al alcance de todos. I am grateful and very happy to know that there are still selfless people willing to help the needy, even if they speak another language. It is my hope that the Ronald McDonald House grows even more so that more children and families could realize their dream of a healthy life.