I’m Lovin’ It

On Saturday, Jenny was discharged from the hospital. Alicia, the NICU social worker, had already put us in contact with the Ronald McDonald House Near Lurie’s, who quickly offered us a room to stay in as long as we need, free of charge. Jenny’s folks, sister, and our brother-in-law helped us relocate from the constant care and monitoring at the hospital to our new home-away-from-home.

I thought we’d feel relief leaving after our eight day stint at the hospital, but the further we drove from our little girl, the heavier my chest felt. In our case, distance was making the heart grow anxious. We finally had a rhythm at the hospital. We could be at Penny’s side in less than five minutes. Even ten minutes further seemed like an eternity. But we got settled in, ate a hot meal, had a warm shower, then I grabbed my delivery cooler and set off to see my little girl.

I arrived to the hospital within ten minutes, was in her room within another five. A sigh of relief. This might not be so bad after all. We can throw on our shoes and walk to see our peanut in minutes. I can’t fathom sitting at home, anxiously awaiting the next visit, neurotically checking the traffic on Google Maps, 30 miles away from our everything.

But we don’t have to stress about that. Places like the Ronald McDonald House exist so families can be close, so they can have one less thing on their ever-growing list of things to worry about. It’s beautiful.

They provide shuttles to and from the hospital, hot lunches every day, a warm place to lay your head. Most of the people here aren’t getting paid, they do this out of the kindness of their hearts. They want to help complete strangers, not because it benefits them, but because they’re people in need. After a tumultuous couple of years, strangers butting heads over the simplest things, friends and families fighting about what now seems insignificant, it’s heartwarming to see the pure love one human can have for another. I know the saying has been watered down into a meme at this point, but it really does restore your faith in humanity. We’re all capable of loving one another if we just put our petty differences aside.

We can’t begin to thank all of you who are reading this blog, sharing Penny’s story, sending us meals, donations, your love. The simplest gesture goes miles. It lifts us up, keeps us strong so we can keep her strong. You’re all so deeply special to us, and hard as we try, we can never repay you enough for your kindness. I struggle believing we deserve all this. There are so many people in need of help, I wouldn’t for a second want to take something away from someone else. But Jenny reminded me, this isn’t just for us, it’s for her. And she’s right. We’re staying close by for her, we’re staying fed and well rested for her. As my sister, Amanda, put it, she’s our little McNugget and we’re all here for her.