14 Nov The Gift of Togetherness

To my family and me, being together is a gift. 

Around this time in 2016, my son Brandon went to bed a healthy, adventurous, 6-year-old. The next morning, he woke up completely paralyzed on the right side of his body. Countless tests and hospital stays later, he was diagnosed with acute flaccid myelitis – a rare neurological illness that causes random paralysis in children.

With the best pediatric rehabilitation program almost three hours from our home, I didn’t know how I was going to take care of my family while also making sure Brandon received the treatment he needed.

That’s where the Atlanta Ronald McDonald House came in. 

Despite the struggle of finding a new “normal” with my son in a wheelchair, we were together. My sons could play video games and my wife and I were able to stay strong for our family without having to worry about where our next meal would come from or where we could do our laundry.

I can’t think of anything more important than being by my son’s side to help him fight, to comfort him and to celebrate victories small and large – which wouldn’t be possible without the House and the people, like you, who support it. 

We don’t know if Brandon will completely recover, but we will keep working hard. We know we will always have a “home-away-from-home” at the Ronald McDonald House.

No family ever wants to need a Ronald McDonald House, but I don’t know what we would have done without it.