Natalie Roy's Story
My three children, Randall 17, Darrion 15 and Keowieh 9, and I have been volunteering at the Ronald McDonald House for several years. We work on weekends doing house cleaning and helping to set up rooms. As a family, this gives us more time to spend together as well as teaching my children about giving back to the community. In addition, the company where I work gives monetary gifts to Ronald McDonald House for every hour we volunteer.
As we worked around the House I saw information about the Ronald McDonald Family Room at UNM Children’s Hospital, but I never knew it was going to play such an important part in my life.
In December 2009 my son, Darrion, ended up in the UNMH Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. He was diagnosed with Methicillin-Sensitive Staphylococcus Aureus, a rare infection that spread throughout his body. With all that was going on with my son, I just couldn’t leave him alone at the Hospital, so we spent three months there while he continued to heal.
That’s when the Ronald McDonald Family Room became my place of respite. I would stop in for snacks and a cup of coffee; I took advantage of the shower; I used the computer to give updates to the family on Darrion’s progress; and since I was there 24 hours a day, being able to do laundry was a gift.
Now I know what the Ronald McDonald Family Room is really all about. It was help for us. It was assistance for us. It was support for us. It was a place where I could get a few minutes of rest while only being a few steps from my son’s room. What a blessing that place was for me and my family!!!
Now that my son is home and healing nicely, I have decided to volunteer at the Family Room. I now realize how important it is for families with children in the hospital and I want to be a part of helping them in their time of need.
