In many ways, the pandemic has given us all a front row seat to what Ronald McDonald House families like Baby Bobbie’s have always known: in the chaos of medical crisis, when fear and uncertainty cloud every choice, when grief is looming, and all sense of normal is gone, it’s the little things that matter—like a meal you can count on.

“When I was pregnant with Bobbie, (doctors) didn’t think there was going to be any issues,” said Bobbie’s mom, Sara. Then, her baby came three months early. “We just thought she was going to spend a couple months in the hospital … but she kept getting sick.” Bobbie spent 952 days in the hospital fighting a chronic lung disorder before doctors finally told Sara that she could bring her home last month. With Bobbie’s big sister Riley to also take care of, Sara spent month after month before the pandemic waking up early, packing up Riley’s toys and books, and making the 150-mile round-trip drive to hospital with her “energetic, crazy, 4-year-old” to stay as long as possible by Bobbie’s side.

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“It’s hard finding someone to watch my 4-year-old or having to drive an hour and a half to get here and coming back so by the time I get home it’s too late for Riley to have dinner. I feel like I’m taking a lot of her childhood away,” said Sara, who, like many Ronald McDonald House parents, had to stop working to manage Bobbie’s intensive care. With COVID-19, so much has changed since we first met Sara and her girls at our in-hospital Ronald McDonald House, where she and Riley would share lunch and dinner most days of the week. Sometimes Grandma would join them for added support. Sara could take a break from the constant sound of monitors and machines in Bobbie’s hospital room and enjoy a cup of tea and talk with other parents while Riley played games with staff and kids through our onsite sibling program.

“I like to come to the Ronald McDonald House, because I like eating the food and I like the chicken,” Riley said after enjoying a meal prepared by one of our volunteer meal groups—groups who can no longer be on site due to COVID-19 visitor restrictions. New rules also meant Sara was unable to take Riley or Grandma to visit Bobbie. Sara said she spent days, sometimes a week at a time, alone, at Bobbie’s bedside.

But one thing has remained the same for Sara and parents like her: the need for daily meals.

Thanks to an outpouring of donations last year, our frontline staff quickly adapted our meal program to Feed the Love, which is allowing RMHC Bay Area to keep feeding families without on-site volunteers. Today, families like Bobbie’s still need us. And we need you. Help us Feed the Love, and donate to keep families at the hospital fed and cared for. Together, you can help us overcome nearly $1 million in COVID-related revenue losses so we can continue feeding, housing, and supporting families without the volunteers and fundraising events that we typically rely on. Collectively, we can care for Ronald McDonald House families so they can stay strong for their children.

“It’s very hard especially when you’re going through it a little bit alone,” Sara said, who is grateful to now have her girls together under one roof. “You all have been such a great help to my little family in a lot more ways than you will ever know.” You can support our Feed the Love campaign, and donate today. Just as there is strength in every family story, there is power in our community coming together. Thank you for keeping RMHC Bay Area strong for families in medical crisis.

With gratitude,

CEO Laura Boudreau, MPH, MSW

rmhcbayarea.org/about-our-ceo