We’re writing this from the ‘Rose’ room at Ronald McDonald House, Glasgow...our 6 month whirlwind...

When our beautiful daughter, Robyn, came into the world we were overjoyed - we’d wished for her for a very long time and finally our dream came true.  However, the joy we felt immediately turned into terror as she stopped breathing in our arms, and needed emergency resuscitation from the brilliant staff at University Hospital Wishaw.  We later found out that she had Choanal Atresia - a condition where the passages behind the nose don’t form properly.   Robyn was also unexpectedly very small for a full term baby - just 4lbs 4oz.  A combination of these things meant she wasn’t very well in the neonatal period and required immediate transfer to The Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow to face her first of three operations.  

Whilst our precious baby girl was being cared for in hospital we were of course by her side day and night.  It was then that we were introduced to the amazing charity that, unbeknown to us, was to become our home from home, Ronald McDonald House. This place allowed us to be near our little angel during her toughest of times and allowed us to rest our weary heads overnight in a safe and comfortable place, just a stone’s throw away from where she slept.  The staff at the House were amazing and supported us during a really difficult time - nothing was too much trouble and you could always guarantee to be met in the morning with a bright smile and heartfelt well wishes for the day ahead.  Thankfully after a whole host of interventions, Robyn made really good progress and after nearly four weeks of intensive care we managed to get her home. The staff at Wishaw and Glasgow really became our true heroes and we could never thank them enough! We were on cloud nine - our baby was home where she belonged...

Unfortunately, that wasn’t the end of the story for Robyn.  She was back in and out of hospital with numerous infections and one thing after another over the coming months.  We made our way around many hospitals but on our most recent occasion, things got really serious and she needed the support of a breathing tube.  This meant that once again we found ourselves being transferred to intensive care in Glasgow.  We were back to where it all began.  Heads spinning and full of worry for what our little precious baby was about to face!  

Again, we were extremely lucky to be allocated a room in the Ronald McDonald House and the charity, once again wrapped it’s arms around us.  This time it has taken a bit longer for Robyn to get better - nearly 7 weeks and counting.  We really don’t know what we would have done without them.  The thought of having to travel nearly two hours per day to be with your sick child is unimaginable.  Ronald McDonald allowed us, and countless other families, the peace of mind of knowing we could stay close to our little Robyn and to be right by her side when she needed us the most.  We can’t express how important this was to us.

In the greater scheme of things, we’ve been so lucky.  Some families have to stay at Ronald McDonald much longer than we did - years in some cases.  Sadly, not every precious little one has the happy ending they deserve. We were able to see, first hand, the incredible work that this charity offers everyone in need and how it extends that support to siblings and relatives too. We will never forget Robyn’s first Christmas! Not where we imagined it to be, but Ronald McDonald (and supporting charities like Evie’s Gift) surprised us all with gifts and made sure that Santa visited all of the children under their roof! 

This journey was most definitely not something we had ever imagined for Robyn’s little start to be, but with every experience we’ve faced, we have learned to be better versions of ourselves and to be more grateful than ever before! Life has thrown our family a fair amount of curveballs recently so we would like to use this energy and put it towards helping to raise money for this amazing charity so that it’s work can continue to support families like ours! 

Some of our incredible friends and family have already reached out to us asking if they can begin raising money so we thought that now, even though we’re still in hospital, would be as good a time as any to kick start our Just Giving Page in our bid to raise £5000 for Ronald McDonald House to keep families together during their darkest of times.  Families like us. 

Here are some of the planned events we have so far:

* Live From Our Living Room to Yours - an online show streaming live on Facebook and YouTube on 30th May

* A group of staff from Michelle’s did a 9.5 mile walk on 21st February 

* Robert McKeown, Steven McKeown, Michael Sweeney and Pierce Whelan ran 13 miles at the Inverness Half Marathon on the 8th March

* Mel (Zander’s sister) has organised a Last Man Standing fun football competition and Sky will be donating £300 towards the final total raised (after the winner gets their share)

More information on this amazing chartity:

Ronald McDonald House Glasgow is a small independent Scottish charity that provides free ‘home away from home’ accommodation for families who have seriously sick children in hospital. The House costs in the region of £660,000 per year to run, helping over 1,400 people per year and gifting over 10,000 nights’ accommodation annually for families from across Scotland and further afield. The house has all the amenities you would find at home, enabling families to rest and recuperate in a safe haven, very close to their sick children.