Sick kids and their families need warmth and love

When my baby sister was little she saw more hospital rooms than any child should ever have to see. She underwent countless hours of testing, multiple operations, and days and days of hospital care. We were fortunate, the hospital wasn't too far from our house. We were able to live at home during this time, just going to the hospital for the necessary visits and stays. Not all of the children and families in my sister's ward were as fortunate. Many had flown from far flung lands to come benefit from the superior medical care offered at this children's hospital. Parents slept on cots in rooms or on hard waiting room couches. Families spent weeks in seedy cheap motels, unable to afford more lavish accommodations. The were worried about their children and they had no place to feel at home during this terrifying time in their lives. 

That was a long time ago in a completely different place, but these days when I drive past the Ronald McDonald House at Stanford, I look at the cheery decorations that are spattered around the perimeter and I smile. The place looks so cozy and fun you might think it's a family themed hotel or maybe a children's museum. What you wouldn't imagine inside those walls are kids waiting for a doctor's appointment or test results or even for a life saving operation.

Families from all over the country bring their sick children to the Lucille Packard Children's Hospital for cutting edge medical care. Sometimes they have to be in the area for months while their child undergoes chemotherapy or other lengthy treatment and they don't always have a friend to stay with or enough money for a long hotel stay. That's when The Ronald McDonald House charity steps in. They welcome these families with open arms in a warm friendly facility, where, for a token amount they get to have a cozy roof over their heads and warm food in their bellies, freeing them to worry about the important thing: getting their children well again.

Rose, aka Jessica Rosenberg, blogs daily at It's my life... and posts frequent product reviews and giveaways at The Lemonade Stand.

Original Silicon Valley Moms Blog post.