On her birthday, 14-year-old Francesca of Mantua, Italy, learned that she had myelodysplasia leukemia and needed a bone marrow transplant. She would have to leave home and stay in a hospital that was more than an hour from her home to undergo medical treatment. It was the worst birthday possible. And it felt so random. As if someone had flipped a coin: Heads: life stays the same. You live like a normal teenager, surrounded by your friends and loving family. Tails: everything changes. You leave home to sit alone in a hospital room more than an hour from home, worrying about your uncertain future. 

But Francesca had RMHC on her side. Thanks to RMHC Italy, her family was able to be with her during five months of treatment and recovery. She had luck on her side, too. It turned out that her brother Matteo was a compatible bone marrow donor. He was able to give her the greatest of gifts: hope and a real chance to have the good health and normal life she longed for.

For much of the time Francesca and her family spent at the Ronald McDonald House in Brescia, she was able to enjoy things that most teenagers love: listening to music, playing on the computer, and making new friends. After her initial recovery, Francesca was even able to receive visits from her friends and other family members at the House. Spending time with the people she loves made Francesca feel at home at the Ronald McDonald House. What a difference that made in her recovery.

Today, Francesca is 17 – or as she likes to say, 14 + 3. She is recovering, and so far, everything is going well. She is back in school and still keeps in touch with some of the new friends she made at the Ronald McDonald House in Brescia. 

Francesca and Matteo are very committed to sharing their story. They do speaking engagements at local schools to talk about leukemia and bone marrow transplants. And every year their family visits the Ronald McDonald House together. It has become a family tradition.    

Francesca’s beautiful video demonstrates the crucial difference RMHC makes in the lives of families with sick children all over the world. 

On behalf of the nearly 9 million families Ronald McDonald House Charities serves each year, we thank you for giving the gift of togetherness! Your support helped RMHC keep the families of seriously ill children together when they needed each other most. 

Life can be so unpredictable. It is often impossible to know what challenges or blessings are waiting for us around the next corner. But when families face a medical crisis, RMHC knows that being together is a crucial part of the healing process. 

In these situations, children need their parents to hold their hand and give them the reassurance that only a parent can. Children like Martin Vu , who was diagnosed with neuroblastoma at age two. Martin’s father Phong brought him to Kansas City for surgery and treatments and stayed by his side through it all. The Longfellow Ronald McDonald House in Kansas City offered Phong some much-needed comfort and care. The House became a very special place for Martin during his battles with cancer and the family still visits whenever they are in town.

Siblings need to play together and support each other, like brothers like Caleb and Jonah  who spent nearly a year waiting for Caleb’s new heart. Thanks to the Ronald McDonald House, Caleb’s family was able to stay nearby during his extended hospitalization and the brothers got to see each other and play together almost every day.  

Parents need to be strong, to cheer their children on even when they are scared themselves. Being able to stay at the Ronald McDonald House of Dallas made this possible for Kacy and Derik Thornton  when their daughter Amelia had heart surgery at just nine days old. The support and sense of community they experienced at the House helped get the Thornton family through some of the toughest times in their lives. 

Thanks to the generosity of thousands of individual donors like you, Ronald McDonald Houses and Ronald McDonald Family Rooms around the world offer families a soothing place to rest, recharge, and cope with the illness of their child. There, the wonderful staff and volunteers of Ronald McDonald Houses take care of many of the everyday details of life, allowing guests to stay with their children as much as possible. And the community of other families going through similar experiences connects people to a powerful support system. 

There are countless ways RMHC provides comfort and care so families can focus on healing together. And we couldn’t do any of it without you! 

Thank You!

Ronald McDonald House Charities