The Flaterud Family

“If we were in a hotel, we would’ve been alone, needing support but not finding any. I don’t know how someone gets through something like that without a shoulder to cry on and a sympathetic ear to listen. How do you get something as simple as a hug when you are away from your family and friends?”

“Jackson was born prematurely at 30 weeks in Regina. He has Nager syndrome (there are maybe 20 people in Canada with it) which means his chin is very recessed and his airway was closed off at birth. The medical team in Regina fought to get him intubated for 2 and a half hours before ‘stabilizing’ his airway just enough to be able to emergency airlift him to the Stollery Children’s Hospital in Edmonton where he had a breathing tube put in and later a tracheostomy done, along with surgery to his bowels, heart, and a G-tube put in. We were fortunate enough to stay at the Ronald McDonald house in Edmonton for 108 days and have fond memories of that house, the staff and the other families we met.

Our first experience with RMHC-SK occurred when our son was transferred from the Stollery Children’s Hospital to Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital in Saskatoon which allowed us to be closer to home (Jackson required a ventilator and Regina isn’t equipped to handle pediatric trachs with ventilators). When we came to RMHC Saskatchewan we didn’t know what to expect but that was quickly put to rest when we arrived. As everyone’s homes are unique so is each Ronald McDonald House. Everyone was welcoming, and the house was very comforting, every space was thoughtfully put together with careful attention to detail. They had plenty of quiet areas around the house to unwind and relax. The colours of the walls, the pictures, the decorations that changed with each holiday or season, all these things made us feel like we were at home. That being said, the people made the real difference for us. We have 2 sons, one who was 4 months old at the time and was in the hospital the entire time and the other who is 2. We both remember how the staff and other families embraced our eldest son, they would let him help “fix” things, or run around with him when we didn’t have the energy. Something we’ll never forget was when Saskatoon had their Santa Clause parade and our family was invited to sit on the RMHC Who-Ville float, they let our oldest son help give out candy canes which made his day!

During our stay we experienced many ups and downs – this included when our son got extremely sick, and we were told that the infection he had was not survivable. I (Markie) remember walking through the house with my eldest son feeling completely empty, we sat in the main front area and one of the staff came up to me and asked how I was doing, I immediately broke down and she sat with me, comforted me and helped take care of our oldest son. If we were in a hotel, we would’ve been alone, needing support but not finding any. I don’t know how someone gets through something like that without a shoulder to cry on and a sympathetic ear to listen. How do you get something as simple as a hug when you are away from your family and friends? The house became part of our family. Not only were they there for us but they also helped accommodate our family by allowing us to move rooms when we had them come up to watch our other son – how amazing is that.

There are many other great things about the house, these are a few things that are special to us. Childcare every Wednesday night, for 2 hours the house had the most lovely and caring group of people take care of the kids at the house. This allowed the 2 of us to either go to the hospital together (which didn’t happen often as its hard to keep a 2-year-old in a hospital room) or we even were able to go out and enjoy a little time together which we didn’t get much of.
The Home for Dinner program was truly a blessing, all the meals were made with a lot of love and many rivaled dishes served at some higher end restaurants. The house also made and brought lunches over to the hospital every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. When you are in a room waiting on appointments or tests the last thing you think about is food so that helped us keep our energy levels up but when they delivered them, they also would stop by our room and come and say hi to our son. Since he was in the hospital the entire time, we never had a chance to bring him to the house to meet the staff, so it was really special that they made that extra effort, it made us feel loved.

Now that we’ve stayed at the RMHC-SK we tell others how impactful it is. In total Jackson was in hospital 287 days, 209 of those nights were spent at Ronald McDonald Houses. We went through this journey as a family and the Ronald house kept us together and took care of each person’s individual needs. It keeps families together and provides for families on so many levels. We have continuous appointments in Saskatoon so we will have ongoing stays at the house. The last stay at the house our oldest son was so excited to be back he said hello to one of the staff and gave her a big hug, that was the first time he’s ever said that word. With everything that we have been through, especially our boys, we are grateful to know that they feel safe and loved at the house. Thank you to everyone at RMHC-SK for everything you do, your simple acts of kindness continue to make all the difference!”

“Thank you to everyone at RMHC-SK for everything you do, your simple acts of kindness continue to make all the difference.”

Share this Story

Show Your Support