Our son, Cayce, was diagnosed with a brain tumor nearly two months ago.
Upon arriving at Ronald McDonald House
® our first reaction was shock and surprise – that a place like this even existed. That a place, where they take care of you and treat you like family is even possible. We were in awe of what a wonderful place we had found. We arrived here, at the House four weeks ago, but the impact was immediate.
We are lucky, because we live in Little Rock, allowing us to return home every week to spend time with friends and family. But when we come back our friends and Ronald McDonald House® family are waiting here, at “The House That Love Built”.
Cayce’s Mom is here with him most of the time, but I have had the true pleasure of spending two whole weeks with my son…doing guy things. We’ve explored a little of Memphis, visited Mud Island, been downtown, went to listen to some blues on Beale Street.
Cayce is getting used to the new ‘normal’ – being with his parents all the time. Since his diagnosis we haven’t taken our eyes off him. I have really enjoyed spending time with Cayce, I look forward to those weeks when I get to come and just hang out with my boy. Circumstances aside this is a treat that not many fathers get to experience.
As a father having a home to send my family to, or accompany my son to is priceless. We, as most families who pack up and move to Memphis after a cancer diagnosis, can’t create our own home here, but at the House it just feels like home.
Simple things like going down to the kitchen, grabbing some milk out of the fridge or sitting outside in the beautiful weather or enjoying a meal that someone has prepared for us with love are the things that really give people that feeling of comfort that only a home can offer. We are not isolated. We are around people, friends, family with all the amenities of home.
There is no other place that will offer you all of this – and at no charge. Ronald McDonald House® is a lifesaver for families in need. When Cayce found out that he had to be in Memphis he wanted to make sure we had a ‘home base’ here.
Not just a hotel, not just a bed in a strange room, but a home. Ronald McDonald House® has given us that home base and so much more.
- Mark (Cayce's Dad)