Ronald McDonald House Stories

This week Ira and Jason sit down with the Licona family and talk about their struggles navigating the healthcare system all the way from Mexico! 
Translations provided by Ira.

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This week Toni sat down with the Molstad Family all the way from Sweden as they talk about their daughter Edith and her struggles with Febrile infection-related epilepsy syndrome (FIRES)  a catastrophic epileptic syndrome that strikes previously healthy children as young as 3.  As well as the struggles that brought them from Sweden here to Salt Lake City.
We explore the intricacies of the healthcare system, travel, as well as a few of the things that have helped this amazing family through their daily challenges. 

To learn more about Edith and her family check out the family's blog: https://firesfighteredith.com/

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This week Tiffany sits down with Dakishia, a mother from Cedar City, UT as they talk about the struggles that brought them to the Ronald McDonald House and how their daughter has given them a whole new outlook on life! 

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Today we sit down with Phil Cox one of our long time volunteers here at the House! 
Phil can often be seen doing everything from shuttle runs for families, to refilling vending machines, or helping Ana in the kitchen.  We talk about Phil's experiences that led him to the Ronald McDonald House and some of his memorable moments volunteering!

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Today we sat down with Travis Woods the Family Support Coordinator at Primary Children's Hospital.  As his title implies Travis provides support for the families at Primary Children's Hospital and a lot of his work interrelates with what we do here at RMHC.  We talk about Travis' influences, challenges, and get to know him more and his work as it relates to RMHC!  

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Hannah is our houses Palliative Care & Behavioral Health Specialist and has had the unique challenge of building her position up to best support the families we serve. 
In this episode Hannah and Toni talk about Hannah's background as well as strategies for support as well as some of the challenges surrounding mental health.

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Pat O'Neil has been a member of the RMHC Board of Directors, has been the Board President, has been a part of our Community Advisory Board, and now serves on the Board Emeritus. During his time with RMHC, Pat has helped to find our amazing current CEO, Carrie Romano, and has established himself as the "Father of the Family Rooms" as he led the design and opening of the largest Ronald McDonald Family Room inside Primary Children's Hospital. During this episode, Pat talks about his experience in being a part of the House and Family Room expansion projects and what his proudest accomplishments are. 

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This wonderful mom from California stayed at the Ronald McDonald House while her daughter received mental health assistance. During this episode, she talks about what it's like to be away from her family in California while she stays with her daughter and the stigma and misunderstanding surrounding mental health conditions in the Asian community. 

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Edgar has been coming to the Ronald McDonald House since 2011 for cerebral palsy and idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (a chronic blood disorder) treatments. Originally from Mexico City, Edgar, his mom, and his younger siblings have made the Ronald McDonald House their true home-away-from-home by attending local schools and playing on local sports teams. In fact, Edgar and his family are such fixtures at the House that he is lovingly referred to as the “mayor of the house" as he knows everyone and often is in the halls greeting people and making sure everything is running smoothly. In this episode, Edgar talks about the difference between his life in Mexico and his life in Salt Lake City, how he chooses to live a full life, and what he envisions for his future. 

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Clark Stringham is one of the original founders of the Ronald McDonald House Intermountain Area. He played a huge role in going from bank-to-bank to secure funding to break ground on the House, he found companies to build out the first 23 bathrooms, and, with the help of his 10-year-old son, laid shingles on the roof. As an owner/operator of McDonald's restaurants, Clark continues his support of RMHC today through fundraising. In this episode, Clark talks about how the original RMHC Intermountain Area founders broke ground on the House, what his funniest memories of that time are, and what he loves about the mission.

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