In Spring 2016 money raised from Milly’s Celebration of Life, along with donations received at Milly’s Smiles First Annual Walk were donated to Ronald McDonald House, to fund a room for families for 3 years. Ronald McDonald House had been a lifesaver for us, it gave us somewhere to stay, instead of having to travel to and from the hospital each day. The whole set up is fantastic, and something that as Milly’s family we wanted to support.
As Milly got closer to discharge after her transplant she was allowed over to McDonald House, and we spent a lot of hours playing games both inside and outside in the fresh air, these now are obviously very precious memories for us.
The room we sponsored was initially called The Library, it was a room we had stayed in many times, so to sponsor a room that Milly was familiar with, was very special. You are allowed to name the rooms, and we decided to call our room Milly’s Castle.
When Milly was isolated on the Bone Marrow Unit for 2 months, we decorated her room and her window and called it Milly’s Castle – so the name for McDonald House is very apt. Milly is pictured here standing outside her room and you can see the decorated window in the background, we think she would love the name.
So this year our sponsorship expires, however Milly’s Smiles want to continue to sponsor the room, we know only too well how much it is needed, and its another way that Milly lives on and helps other families. So we have sponsored the room for another 3 years and this means such a lot to us as it will do to families whose child is admitted into hospital and need somewhere to stay.
What is also very special is that the room opposite Milly’s Castle is sponsored by the family of a friend of Milly’s who was having his transplant at the same time, and he was in the room next door. We love this and I am sure they will both be happy that their rooms are together.
