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Angie Pierce: Louisville RMH was closest to Kosair NICU for us We're encouraging each individual who reads our family's personal story to donate a few items for the Ronald McDonald House collection drive this week. The donated items are greatly appreciated, as so many families need the basic necessities they would normally have at their own homes. My family always contributes to this annual collection drive. We have already bought our items for this year's drive, and are ready to donate them this Thursday, October 24th. We will also be contributing the drink tabs that we have collected with our family and friends. - ANGIE PIERCE The 6th Annual Ronald McDonald House wish List Donation Drive is being held held 3pm-6pmCT, Thursday, October 24, 2013, at the Chamber of Commerce, 201 Burkesville Street, back parking lot. WISH LIST By Angie Pierce With the Ronald McDonald House collection drive being later this week, I wanted to share my family's personal story with the Ronald McDonald House of Louisville. Our eight year old daughter, Shelbie, a third grader at ACES, was born extremely premature on November 22, 2004 in Louisville. She was born 3 1/2 months early, and the doctors told my husband and I that she would be in the hospital for several months. Shelbie weighed less than two pounds at birth, and her lungs were so underdeveloped that she was placed on a ventilator for the first seven weeks of her life. Although I had family members living in Louisville who invited us to stay with them, we decided that we wanted to stay at the Ronald McDonald House. The main reason we wanted to stay at the Ronald McDonald House was that we wanted to be as close to the NICU as possible. I was discharged from the hospital on Thanksgiving Day 2004, and we made our way to the Ronald McDonald House to get checked in and become familiar with our "Home Away From Home". We were greeted by a local group of volunteers who had gathered at the RMH to prepare a Thanksgiving Day meal for the families who were staying there. As we finished eating our Thanksgiving dinner, we meet a family who we became close friends with. They were from Illinois, and their twin sons had been transported to Kosair Children's Hospital NICU soon after being born. We supported each other during the times when our preemies were experiencing health problems, as well as rejoiced with each other on the days our preemies reached important milestones. We still stay in touch with this family today. As the doctors had predicted, Shelbie was in the NICU for three months while her premature body had time to grow and become stronger. The winter she was in the NICU was a particularly cold, snowy one in Louisville. My husband went back to work two weeks after Shelbie's birth, but always traveled to Louisville each weekend to spend time at the NICU with Shelbie. I was very thankful that the Ronald McDonald House kept their parking lot cleared on snow and ice that winter. As I went about my daily routine, I was always greeted with a smile by the RMH staff and volunteers. I always looked forward to coming back to the Ronald McDonald House each evening. There was always a warm, healthy meal served each night which was prepared by local churches or businesses. Meal time gave families an opportunity to share their stories and give their support to each other. Another one of our fondest memories was Christmas morning at the Ronald McDonald House. Each family found that a tote box had been delivered to the door leading to their room. Each tote box was full of small gifts donated by individuals from local communities like Columbia. Our tote box included a few gifts for Allen and I, as well as for Shelbie. There were several receiving blankets, preemie sleepers, and infant toys for Shelbie. Some of the other items in our tote box included envelopes, notepads, stamps, men's and women's socks, gloves, and scarfs. In 2004, the cell phone that I had didn't have a text feature, so I was always asking the staff members for paper, envelopes, and stamps so that I could write thank you notes to family and friends who had sent us gifts. Although we weren't at our own home Christmas morning, we were very thankful for the gifts that we had received. The volunteers who assembled these Christmas boxes were very thoughtful and remembered the specific situation of each family. Shelbie spent a total of 100 days in the NICU before she became healthy enough to come home from the hospital on March 2, 2005. I spent a total of 96 nights at the Ronald McDonald House during that time. My family and I will forever be thankful to the Ronald McDonald House of Louisville staff and volunteers for the kindness, comfort, and emotional support they gave us during one of the most difficult times in our lives. We're encouraging each individual who reads our family's personal story to donate a few items for the Ronald McDonald House collection drive this week. The donated items are greatly appreciated, as so many families need the basic necessities they would normally have at their own homes. My family always contributes to this annual collection drive. We have already bought our items for this year's drive, and are ready to donate them this Thursday, October 24th. We will also be contributing the drink tabs that we have collected with our family and friends. I'm also providing a picture of Shelbie donating drink tabs this past summer at the Ronald McDonald House of Louisville. On that particular July day, we delivered approximately 30 gallons of drink tabs collected by our friends and families in Adair and Taylor Counties. During the last eight years, we have taken drink tabs and other needed items to the Ronald McDonald House of Louisville on a yearly basis. We will always remember the comfort and love shown to us by our "Home Away From Home". Sincerely, Angie Pierce This story was posted on 2013-10-21 04:02:43
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