Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Texas provides free lodging, meals, and support services for families with a child in the hospital. This holiday season, BE THE LIGHT for these families by donating to the RMHC CTX end-of-year campaign. Your gift means the WORLD to a family in the middle of a pediatric medical crisis!

The Adams Family became an RMHC CTX family this year when they stayed in a Ronald McDonald Family Room in June 2023. Here's their story:

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After waking up to early signs of labor on June 26 and a two-day hospital stay for treatment and observation, my wife, Allison, delivered our son at 27 weeks, 4 days of gestation. Alfred “Alfie” William Adams joined the world at 7:05 p.m., weighing in at 2 lbs, 6.8oz and measuring 14.5 inches.

From the moment we learned that Alfred would be coming this early, we knew we had a long stay in the NICU ahead of us. However, two days after Alfie was born, Allison was ready to be discharged. You have to need care to stay in the hospital, which is totally valid, but also very confusing and scary when another member of your family—a very little, new, one at that—is not ready to go home.

Thankfully, the staff at St. Joseph Health College Station Hospital had already told us about Ronald McDonald House Charities. I had heard of the Ronald McDonald House numerous times and seen the little change boxes at McDonald’s over the years, but honestly I didn’t really know what it was or who it was for. From the local chapter’s website, their mission is “to provide lodging and services to families with critically ill and injured children.” I obviously never considered it might be a place

I call home one day, but what felt like just moments after learning Alfred was coming early, I was touring the House in the hospital. I vaguely remember the walkthrough, I was still in a fog, running on adrenaline, still deeply fearful of what was all going on, and frankly you could have offered me a tent on the roof of the hospital and I would have gladly taken it if it meant I could be close to Alfie. That said, this place has exceeded every hope and expectation. A wonderful bedroom with its own lock, a shared kitchen, dining area, living room, work desk, patio, and even a laundry room for us to use. Beyond that, we are provided meal vouchers for the cafeteria, lunches frequently, snacks, and every toiletry you can forget at home.

All of this is provided free of charge to the families, which still feels like it can’t be true. The team of volunteers and house managers are so incredibly generous and considerate, always looking for ways to support us. We have had a few other families come and go throughout our time, and it has been so nice to have the opportunity to meet others going through a similar time while still having our own privacy and space.

Since we do live a bit away from the hospital, having this space where we can live and work while being moments away from Alfred has been more than a blessing, it has been a miracle. We intend to find ways to support Ronald McDonald House Charities once we leave, as well as the many businesses that have donated to support the house and us. But for now, we are just so grateful for this incredible space and the wonderful staff and volunteers.

Thank you for all that you do to support RMHC of Central Texas. It means the world to families like ours.

With gratitude,

William Adams, Alfie’s Dad