Help us raise money

On October 24, 2025, we welcomed our beautiful daughter, Sophia. Just one day after being discharged from the hospital, we were back in the emergency room. The next day, she was transferred to Victoria Children’s Hospital, where testing and biopsies confirmed she had Hirschsprung’s Disease — later diagnosed during surgery as Total Colonic Hirschsprung’s Disease.

At just three weeks old, our baby underwent life-saving surgery.

Nothing prepares you for watching your newborn fight for her life. Nothing prepares you for recovering from childbirth while living in hospital rooms. And nothing prepares you for trying to parent a five year old while your world is unfolding hours away. That’s where Ronald McDonald House Southwestern Ontario stepped in.

As a freshly postpartum mom, I was running on fear and adrenaline. I didn’t want to leave my five day old baby’s bedside, but I desperately needed sleep. Walking into Ronald McDonald House for the first time, I broke down. It was the first moment I felt safe enough to breathe. It gave me a bed to rest in, a shower to reset in, and the strength to walk back into the hospital and advocate for my daughter.

When Sophia declined and we went back, the call welcoming us back to the House while she was in the operating room felt like a lifeline. We weren’t just getting a room, we were getting stability in the middle of chaos.

Because of Ronald McDonald House, my husband and I could stay minutes from our daughter during critical care. I could recover physically and emotionally while still being present. Our five year old son could visit, stay close, and still experience pieces of childhood. Even celebrating Halloween at the House after choosing to skip trick-or-treating to see his sister. Two weeks after surgery and just days before discharge were able to spend a night together as a family of four during a month that otherwise felt like survival.

Ronald McDonald House is not just a place to sleep. It is the difference between exhaustion and resilience. Between isolation and support. Between surviving and having the strength to keep going.

Families like ours do not plan for medical crises. But because of donor generosity, when the unthinkable happens, a light is already on and a door is already open.

Your support gives families a place to rest, to regroup, and to stay close when every minute matters. It gave us the strength to stand beside our daughter while she fought, that is something we will carry with us forever.

The Ronald McDonald house will continue to be a lifeline for our family as Sophia continues to receive care from her surgical team in London. 

Her journey may be rare, but her strength is undeniable — that’s what it means to be Sophia Strong 🩷