This year, in memory of Laila, we’re raising money to continue our sponsorship of a room at the Ronald McDonald House. Our room would be fully sponsored by these donations for one calendar year and would help ensure that the families that stay in that room throughout the year are able to stay close to their kiddos that are ill and/or injured in the hospital local to the house itself. This was a blessing while Laila was in the hospital as I stayed in the Ronald McDonald House several times over her lifetime (for those who are new, I’ll share Laila’s story below). The Ronald McDonald House is crucial in a parent's life while struggling with the non-normal life they may be living in while their child is undergoing treatment, recovering, or nearing the end of a long struggle. They provide a clean, warm bed to sleep in, private bathrooms, washers, and dryers. Almost every day of the week, volunteers come in to cook either lunch or dinner, and if you’ve ever stayed in a hospital for a week, a month, or a year, you understand the importance of normalcy. Our sponsorship would ensure that families can stay even if financially they cannot make the donation required to stay.

Laila was born on January 18th, 2011, and at only 3.5 years old, she passed away. We spent almost her entire life in a hospital. She was born with an unheard-of genetic condition affecting chromosomes 1 & 10 - 1q41q44 (214,401,568-247,249,719) ×3 10p15.3p14 (0-6,889,456) ×1 to put it medically. During her life, she went through multiple surgeries (GI, heart, airway) as well as having a stroke just before her second birthday and ultimately succumbing to those circumstances in July of 2014. She taught so many lessons to those around her; even without words or actions.