A letter to the next Ronald McDonald House Toronto family: You’re not alone
When a child is in the hospital receiving life-saving care, they need their family close. With your help, they’ll never be alone.
Dear Incoming Family,
When you first walk through these doors, your world might feel like it’s falling apart. I know, because mine did.
When my five-year-old son, Hendrix, relapsed with cancer, everything we knew—home, work, school, routine—disappeared overnight. Our lives suddenly revolved around hospital walls and waiting rooms.
For nine months, Ronald McDonald House Toronto was our safe place. It was our home when everything else felt lost. After long days at the hospital, I could come here, cook a warm meal and feel a tiny piece of normal again. Hendrix could play, laugh and just be a kid, even while fighting the hardest battle of his life.
His bone marrow transplant meant 42 long days in isolation, and we spent the first 21 inside a 10-by-12-foot hospital room. The next 21 brought a small upgrade: a room with a washroom.
During those weeks, the Ronald McDonald House Toronto Family Room, located right at the hospital, was my lifeline. It was where I could shower, do laundry and steal a few quiet moments just to catch my breath. Those small moments of normalcy meant everything.
You may be scared right now. You may feel lost, heartbroken and unsure of how to keep going. Please know this: this house and the family room will hold you the way they held me. They will wrap you in comfort, kindness and community. They will give you space to rest, to breathe, to cry and to find strength again.
Ronald McDonald House and Ronald McDonald House Family Rooms aren’t just places to stay. They are places where families stay strong. They are where hope quietly rebuilds itself, where love lives in every hallway and where no one ever has to face the hardest days alone.
Hold on tight. You’re not alone in this.
With all my heart, Jenna Devlin Hendrix’s mom, a fellow Ronald McDonald House Toronto parent
More than just a place to stay. Ronald McDonald House Toronto is where families stay strong—together—when a child is seriously ill.
A gift of $167 helps stock the house pantry for two full days—giving 81 families access to the everyday staples they rely on and one less thing to worry about so they can focus on what matters most: their child’s care.
Give the comfort of togetherness this holiday season. Visit RonaldMcDonaldHouseToronto.ca/give.
