Our daughter was about a year old when we found out that we were expecting another. The news brought pure joy and excitement until our routinely scheduled ultrasound at 19 weeks gestation. After 5 minutes of happily observing our child in the ultrasound, the technician uttered the word "OH" in a not so positive way. It was at this minute that we knew that something was wrong and we were subsequently informed that our son had a neural tube defect known as Spina Bifida Myleomeningocoel. After a few days of coming to terms with this news, we decided to become proactive. My husband and I arranged for a second opinion at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, the best Children's Hospital in the country.
We traveled to Pennsylvania , from Rochester, NY, with arrangements to stay at the Ronald McDonald House of Southern New Jersey, but not knowing anything about the establishment. Although our initial stay was brief, we could readily see the amazing nature of the house. We returned less than a week later to undergo more testing and were selected into an experimental study where our son's back was repaired in-utero at 24 weeks of gestation. This surgery required that we remain in Philadelphia until our son was born. This is when the Ronald McDonald House of Southern New Jersey became our haven, our home away from home.
Knowing that we would be in Jersey for months, I refused to leave my then, 18 month old daughter behind. The RM house was able to accommodate myself, my husband, my daughter and an extra care person for my daughter (as I was on complete bed rest and the study required my husband to be my personal care-taker). This was a blessing beyond belief. To have a place to stay, where MOST meals were prepared for you by volunteers, where you could cook your own meals if need be, and where you had a safe place to stay as a family, fulfilled ones basic needs. However, the RM house went far beyond these needs. The staff showed genuine concern and support as we went through the ups and downs of weekly doctor's appointments and ultrasounds. They became actively involved in the interests and growth of our daughter, so much so that she still refers to memories that she had with various staff members. The staff became, to us, a part of our extended family. We will forever be grateful for their efforts and their still continuing interest in and support of our family's welfare.
One would think the phenomenal staff enough, but the RM house offers more. It naturally facilitates for a comradary between and among its occupants. The house has common sitting, eating and television areas where families with similar situations can share stories, commiserate, comfort each other and build lifelong friendships. This ability to talk with people who REALLY understood what you were going through is without question, a critical component to maintaining sanity while experiencing one of life's biggest challenges. Our family is forever bonded with the other families that we met during our stay.
The RM house of SNJ is an amazing place. If you have to be away from home, there is no better place to be. The love, support and feeling of family pervades the house, coming from the staff, the families who stay there and from the countless volunteers who permit the house's existence. We want to thank all who were a part of our stay, you have changed our lives forever. Our son, Carter, is five months old and thriving for a young man who once had a bleak future. We see this as a direct result of the amazing individuals at the RM house, who helped us to feel at home when we thought our lives were falling apart. You helped us and so many other families who are experiencing some of life's lowest moments and you not only make them bearable, you make them memorable. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. May God bless you all.
Sincerely,
The Biata Family
This is the house where families meet
to continue their lives,
to eat and sleep,
to find their strengths and dry their tears,
to look forward with hope to better years.
This is the house that becomes their home.
This is the house that love built.