It all began with a simple fall.
Y’Kavius fell while playing with friends and the pain just wouldn’t go away.
Eventually we went to the hospital to get things checked out. It took a week of procedures and a few different doctors to figure out what was wrong – my son had Osteosarcoma, bone cancer.
The diagnosis hit us like a truck. But we knew we had to act fast. Our doctor recommended Memphis and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. I will never forget his words: “if it were my child I would go today."
When you hear that sentence from a physician you pack up your life and go. We left our home in Mississippi behind the following day.
When we arrived in Memphis, it was just overwhelming. Everything moved so fast, from testing at the hospital to moving in at Ronald McDonald House® of Memphis. We had no time to think, to absorb anything or to adjust. It took moving into our new “home-away-from-home” and settling down to finally give us a moment to breathe.
When we walked through the doors we instantly felt at home. Ronald McDonald House® is not just a house, but a community. With friends and neighbors that you come across day by day – you talk, you mingle, you form new relationships, and you find support. I couldn’t even begin to imagine where we would be without this home to live in during our fight against cancer.
We are here to get Y’Kavius better. Our ‘other life’ is for now gone – until we get through, this is our new life. We live in this moment, in this home.
I have learned that people call Ronald McDonald House®, “The House That Love Built”. It’s so true!
You never feel closed in and alone. Everything from the surroundings, to the staff, from the volunteers who work at the house daily to those who come and serve us a meal after a long day at the hospital, all of that comes from love. We are here as a family of three. And the kids love it here. There is always something to do at Ronald McDonald House®.
Nobody ever thinks this can or would ever happen to their family. But it can and it does.
The support that we have received from Ronald McDonald House® has been way more than I ever thought was possible. We have a long road ahead of us, but we know that we will not be alone. We have our Ronald McDonald House® family with us, every step of the way!
- Yauvanka (Y’Kavius’ Mom)