Imagine learning that there is something wrong with your unborn baby and there is nothing you can do about it. That was November for Doreen, mother to 6 ½ month old Caillou. Doreen was pregnant and living with her family, which includes two other children, in Window Rock, Arizona when her diabetes and high blood pressure became cause for concern. It was soon discovered that her unborn son had a serious congenital heart defect and she herself was in danger of preeclampsia.

Doreen was flown out to St. Joseph’s Hospital in Phoenix for 3 weeks of bed rest. “They tried to keep the baby in but they were forced to induce me,” Doreen said. Caillou was born prematurely at 32 weeks on November 19, 2010; he weighed 2 lbs. and 12 oz.

At 3 weeks old, Caillou had his first heart surgery, a PDA hybrid surgery to put a stint in his artery so blood would flow more easily as well as slow down the blood flow to his lungs. After being told that her son’s fragile lungs would not be able to handle the elevation at home up North, Doreen needed to find a place to stay. “I was being discharged after giving birth and had no gas money or a place to go. That’s when a social worker told us about Ronald McDonald House.

Once she arrived at the house, Doreen was surprised at how homey and comfortable it was. “The Ronald McDonald House is truly a place where you can be comfortable while still close to your loved one in the hospital,” she stressed. “The experience has been good. Things I’ve needed they were able to give us, especially meals. It’s also been nice to meet other people to talk and get support. It’s also given us the opportunity to be alone with him away from nurses coming in and out and the noisy hospital machines.” Doreen has also benefitted from baseball game tickets and a special Mother’s Day makeover provided by donations to the House.

Baby Caillou underwent his second heart surgery in March which worked on repairing the main arch of his heart. Currently, he is attached to a temporary ventilator to help him breathe and is being weaned off of various narcotics. Once that is done, he will be able to travel home to meet his family for the first time.

Until then, Doreen continues to gain strength from the House staff and other families at her ‘home away from home.’ “We comfort each other and keep each other from getting down,” she said.

By Lindsay Walker, RMHC intern