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Melancthon mom credits Ronald McDonald house with saving her family

February 15, 2019   ·   0 Comments

By Mike Baker

A Melancthon mom has heaped praise on Toronto’s Ronald McDonald House, crediting the organization with saving her family at the most desperate of times.

As the charity prepares for the launch of its limited-time red velvet RMHC cookie fundraiser, supported at McDonald’s locations across the country, Kris Trafford this week spoke to the Citizen about the “amazing things” the organization does for families in need on a daily basis.

While her story isn’t necessarily a pleasant one, Ms. Trafford was keen to share. It began back in late 2017 when Kris, and her husband Graham, welcomed their third child, Brody, into the world. 

“At first there didn’t seem to be any issues. He was our beautiful, happy baby boy. He seemed relatively healthy,” Kris remembers.  

With a history of asthma in the family, the first sign of issues started to appear when, at only a few weeks old, Brody started to exhibit breathing problems. With his parents keeping a close eye on his development, Brody took a turn for the worse in Dec. 2017. He started to lose weight and, more concerning, cough up blood. By the time he was three months old, he had contracted pneumonia seven times. Kris had no other choice than to take him to Sick Kids in Toronto. 

While he hasn’t been officially diagnosed, Brody has some form of severe intestinal failure. His body is not able to process food. Since being admitted on Dec. 2, 2017, Kris and Graham’s “special little man” has been a constant fixture at the Toronto hospital. Not that they thought it would turn out that way.

“When we first went in, we thought for sure we’d be back home in time to celebrate Christmas as a family,” Ms. Trafford said. “Then the days carried into weeks. Before long, we were almost into February, with no end in sight.”

Kris spent the entirety of those first seven weeks at Brody’s bedside, refusing to leave him alone even for a moment. It was difficult for a mom with two other children – at that time aged two and four – at home, not really aware of what was going on, but she simply had to be there for her stricken son. That’s when she was introduced the Ronald McDonald House.

“We were adamant that we would deal with this on our own,” Kris said, noting the family had up until that point declined assistance from a social worker. “We didn’t realize how bad Brody was, or how long of a stay he was set for. Eventually, one of my friends asked if we had considered reaching out to Ronald McDonald House. I didn’t know if we would qualify (living within commuting distance to Toronto), but within a day of accepting a social worker, we had a spot.”

That provided an enormous sense of relief to the Trafford family. It meant they could, once again, be together as one. 

“It really saved us. We were able to be together again as a family. Without Ronald McDonald House, I don’t know what we would have done,” Kris said.

As well as giving Kris an opportunity to spend time with her family, Ronald McDonald House introduced her to a new group of friends – ones she still remains in touch with today.

Since 1981, Ronald McDonald House in Toronto has served as a place to call home for families with seriously ill children undergoing treatment. The facility boasts space for 81 families within a four minute commute to Sick Kids hospital. Last year, the facility provided shelter to 4,735 families from throughout Ontario, across Canada and around the world.

While considered an individual entity, Ronald McDonald House in Toronto is part of a network of more than 360 such houses worldwide. 

While Brody’s struggles continue, the Trafford family has something of an ‘in-and-out’ agreement with Ronald McDonald House. Since being released from hospital in May of last year, Brody has been back on no less than 10 occasions. He is a member of the ‘Gift Team’ at Sick Kids, a group that deals entirely with severe and complicated cases of intestinal failure. 

Kris reflected on the various procedures Brody has endured during his stay, which includes having a central line connected to his heart to provide nutrition, a G Tube that goes straight to his stomach to allow pressure to be released and a J Tube linked to his intestines as an additional way of providing his body with much-needed nutrition. 

“Our little man has been through the ringer, but he doesn’t let it phase him,” Kris said. “Where we’re at right now… We’re just hoping and praying his body will accept nutrition through the J Tube and he can grow that way. Then he doesn’t need to have a central line.”

The Trafford’s story is featured in a brand new book, set to be released this month, titled ‘Cookies, From our Kitchen to Yours’. In the book, Kris includes her special cookie recipe that proved to be a big hit amongst other families at Ronald McDonald House, as well as a brief tidbit highlighting Brody’s 14-month long Sick Kids journey. 

“The book really comes from my love of cookies,” Kris said. “Right at the beginning of our stay at Ronald McDonald House, I baked a big batch of cookies, put them out on the table and encouraged everyone to take one. Before long, this became a regular thing. Everyone knew Wednesdays was Kris’ cookie day. It was almost like therapy for me, and it put smiles on lots of faces.”

She added, “I never expected it to take off the way it did, but they were very popular. Eventually, I was approached and asked if I would like to be featured in a book. We did a photo shoot, shared our story… It was a nice break. It was a lot of fun.”

In getting her story out to the public, Kris hopes to raise awareness about Ronald McDonald House and the amazing program they offer down in Toronto. Looking to the future, she’s remaining optimistic that Brody will grow up to live a happy and healthy life.

“Looking back at everything that’s happened over the past year, I sometimes forget about all the emotions we’ve been through as a family over that time. A year ago, we were watching our little guy starve to death and the doctors had no answers,” Kris said. “It’s hard to think back to those times, but Ronald McDonald House certainly made things easier for us. Now we’re making progress. It’s still a really long road, but we’ve been blessed in a lot of ways to be where we are today. We take nothing for granted.”

For more information on Toronto’s Ronald McDonald House, visit www.rmhctoronto.ca.


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