I wanted to take some time to share some of the conversations we had with the families staying at the Ronald McDonald House this past visit.
The stories are raw. The stories are real. The stories are their lives.
One mom shared her journey of birthing premature twins one of which was born with his bladder outside of his body. You couldn’t tell by looking at him but she assured us if you were to change his diaper you would find his bladder lying on top of his skin. He had already undergone several surgeries but required quite a few more. His next surgery scheduled was estimated to take up to 16 hours. As you can imagine, his parents are anxious about such a long time under anesthesia and any complications that could arise. Please keep this little guy and his parents in your prayers. He has a long journey ahead.
The next family we met shared their miracle story with us. Their little girl was born with complications of her heart. They’ve been from doctor to doctor only to keep hearing the phrase “heart transplant”. But she was just a baby. After visiting the top hospitals in the nation and mustering up the courage to schedule the surgery they made their way to the east coast. After settling in at the Ronald McDonald House they took their precious baby girl to her pre-op appointment and scan to learn that her heart had completely healed. All of their scans and tests showed no complications and her heart was functioning on its own at 100%. Praise God!
Finally, a mom came in who had just said goodbye to her little girl who was taken off of life support that afternoon. I can’t pretend to know what that feels like or even start to understand why that happened. We didn’t have any words of wisdom or past experience to draw from, we didn’t even know her, but we sat with her so she wasn’t alone.
These stories aren’t meant to make you sad or guilt you into volunteering. These stories are a reminder of how blessed we are and how thankful we should be. I don’t know about you but things like this always help me get a little perspective.
theshineministries.com 