The Taylor Family

“RMH brought a sense of calmness to our life amidst a storm. Upon walking through the front doors of RMH the first time we remember an instant feeling of comfort.”

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“On January 22, 2024, our family’s world was flipped upside
down. Our oldest son Parks, who was 3 at the time, was fighting a
persistent cold, became very pale and began to have small, faint red
spots on his face. After getting Parks into our family doctor, where
he was quickly sent for blood work, we got a call that evening to go
to the Regina General hospital where the paediatrician on call would
go over the results with us. While a lot of that evening was a blur,
the words of the doctor remain very clear. “Your son Parks, has
Leukaemia.” Wow. We were torn and in total shock of this
diagnoses. The doctor informed us we would spend the night in
Regina Paediatrics unit, then head to Saskatoon to Jim Pattison
Children’s Hospital the next day. The Children’s Oncology team
would be waiting for us at JPCH when we arrived to go over the
treatment plan and then begin treatment there. We spent 2 weeks at
JPCH for Parks to have surgery to receive his central port, his first
treatments of chemotherapy and his first of 2 bone marrow biopsy
which results confirmed his diagnosis of B-Cell Acute
Lymphoblastic Leukaemia(ALL). After those 2 weeks, we were
discharged from the hospital and would continue Parks’ treatment as
an out patient at JPCH. Through these months of treatment that
Parks has had and will continue to under go for the next 2 years, we
have had the privilege to stay at the Ronald McDonald House in
Saskatoon. The Ronald McDonald House, or as Parks calls it, “The
McDonalds House”, has been one of the greatest blessings for our
family as we navigate through Parks’ chemotherapy treatments away
from our home.

We first stayed at Ronald McDonald house when Parks was
undergoing early treatments at Jim Pattison’s Children’s hospital.
With the weight of Parks’ recent diagnosis, RMH brought a sense of
calmness to our life amidst a storm. Upon walking through the front
doors of RMH the first time we remember an instant feeling of
comfort. Greeted by the smiling faces of the staff in the front office,
we received our orientation tour of the house. After seeing the small
family rooms through out the house, the kitchens, the play structure
outside and our boys favourite, the big playroom in the basement. I
remember sitting in our room looking at Faith and saying, “this
place really does feel like home.” Every time we would either go to
the hospital or go home, when we would arrive back to the house, a
feeling of comfort grew strong.
Whether we are at the house for a short stay when Parks day
treatment or a longer stay for more extensive treatment, every time
our family gets to experience just how remarkable Ronald
McDonald House is. We’d like to share a few things that our family
loves and cherishes about RMH. First off, the “Home for Dinner”
nights. Whether the day was spent focusing on Parks’ treatment or
traveling to Saskatoon, or just keeping our 2 boys entertained. A
good home cooked meal, that Faith didn’t even have to cook, is
always great! While you may not know it, but it is possible to get
tired of fast food. Having a meal provided for us relieves a huge
burden, and they always taste amazing!

Secondly the Staff and Volunteers of the house. I’m not sure if
they know it, I really hope they do before I mention it now, but they
bring a lot of joy to our family. The many games of peek-a-boo at
breakfast, to the games of “chase” through the halls in the
afternoons or just the time they take to listen to story’s. A-lot of
Parks’ smiles, giggles and memory’s from the house are with people
that have become pretty special to him. Their genuine care and
concern for our family as we continue on Parks medical journey,
shines through with every smile, conversation or sweet gesture that
they give. They really are a special group of people.

The final thing I want to mention was the natural connection our
family got to create with other family’s in the house who’s kids
were going through their own medical storms. Those connections
would lead to daily check ins with family’s through out our stay.
From conversations about how our kids were progressing in there
medical journey, to just chatting about how there day was going.
When family’s take on medical difficulties, there is a natural
compassion for each other that quickly comes to surface, and
staying in the same house as those people gives you a reminder that
you arnt alone in your child’s medical journey. But alot of those
daily check ins at the house didn’t just stop there, but have grown
into friendships. Friendships that would have maybe never
happened if we didn’t have the McDonald’s House as our common
ground.

While we would love to talk for hours about many more things
our family loves or are thankful for about Ronald McDonald
House. We will leave you with this. The impact that Ronald
McDonald House Charities has made on our family’s life, along
with many other family’s, is enormous! And we are very grateful
and appreciative for everyone who has supported and those who
continue to support the Ronald McDonald House.”

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