Standing in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Janelle watched as her tiny baby – not even a few days old – lay sedated on the bed.
Connected to tubes, under a heat lamp and with a CPAP machine breathing for him, little Garcia needed around the clock care after emergency surgery to fix a bowel obstruction.
It was a traumatic time, made harder by the fact that Janelle, her husband Kane and their two other children Rahli and Maverick were forced to leave their home, work, and community in Western Victoria to be close to the care they needed. “We had no idea what was going to happen“, says Janelle.
The family moved into a Ronald McDonald House when Janelle was 38 weeks pregnant. At 39 weeks she was induced and Garcia was born. Within days, Garcia was having tests, x-rays and scans. Garcia was just three days old when surgeons removed 60 percent of his bowel. It wasn’t to be his last operation.
“After his first surgery, we couldn’t hold him for three days because he was so sedated. He had to learn to breathe again.”
The family’s first stay at Ronald McDonald House lasted 63 days. During that time, little Garcia had more surgery to take out an extra centimeter of his bowel, reverse his stoma and flush out obstructions. “We soon fell into a routine. We’d wake up, spend all day at hospital, come back to the House, have some dinner, go to bed and repeat.“
At the house, Rahli and Maverick could play outside, do art and craft, watch movies and build wonderful friendships with staff, volunteers and other children staying. When the family came back after a long day on the ward, they had a safe place to retreat to and home-cooked meals ready to eat. “Not having to worry about accommodation and food expenses, kids’ entertainment or putting them in kinder or childcare, took a load off mentally. It was completely mind-blowing because it felt like staying with family.”
“Our house wouldn’t exist, that’s for sure. We would have struggled to keep up with repayments. We would have been split up as a family. Just helpless.”
During their stay, Rahli decided that she wanted to get a cubby house for the children receiving treatment and their siblings staying at the House, to play in and enjoy, just as she had enjoyed her time at the House. So the family set up a fundraising page and within 24 hours it raised enough to build, paint and decorate a cubby House. “To see a five-year-old receive kindness and mirror that straight away – that’s been really cool.”
While Garcia’s care is ongoing, Janelle is grateful to have a home away from home where her family could be together when they needed it most.
“Every hard situation we’ve been dealt, we’ve seemed to counter with some precious moments together as a family thanks to the Ronald McDonald House.”