Hospitality in a time of chaos, local parents share gratitude for Ronald McDonald House Charities

RENO, Nev. (KOLO) -It’s a non-profit you often don’t know about, until your child has major health concerns. Ronald McDonald House Charities has been serving Northern Nevada for 35 years, offering temporary housing when children have cancer treatments, issues at birth, or unfortunate accidents.

“Twenty four hours after birth, he started having breathing issues and mild seizures...which, I was actually holding him in my arms when we were doing the 24 hour, very standard testing and he just turned black and blue in my arms,” Matthew Olivares explains>

The beginning of his son, Warren Olivares’ life has been quite eventful. He was born right after the 4th of July. His mom Tess went into pre-term labor at 23 weeks. They live in South Lake Tahoe, he was born at 35 weeks in Carson City.

“Don’t be afraid to accept that help, don’t be afraid to ask, don’t be afraid to not be okay because its okay to not be okay,” Tess says. Tess and her husband Matthew, found out Warren had a few brain bleeds. He’s been at Renown for a few weeks, and the drive back and forth to South Lake Tahoe was too taxing. So they reached out to Ronald McDonald House Charites.

“The staff that works here, all the people who come to donate, I mean, we have some people come in two or three times a week to cook us home cooked meals, so it’s nice to not be eating cafeteria food, and get that little bit of comfort that is so hard to find in a time like this,” Tess adds.

In honor of the non-profit’s 35th anniversary, staff is hoping you’ll donate 35 dollars to continue this mission. a mission many guardians don’t lean on until a crisis hits.

“As a parent, you want to be able to support them and save them, stop their pain and suffering. Our house provides that little bit of comfort, knowing that they don’t have to worry about where they’re going to stay, how they’re going to feed themselves and how they’re going to support their child in the hospital or receiving medical treatment,” Executive Director Rikki Rover tells us.

Warren’s parents have great news! He doesn’t need the assistance of tubes anymore and is getting better and better at bottle feeding. A happy baby equals happy parents and a cozy place to rest their heads is a tremendous stress relief.

“From having your kids make a silly little card to brighten up a family’s day to donating a roll of toilet paper, it’s just...anything and everything you can do is a huge help,” Matthew says.

An unforgettable start in their son’s life, but it’s one mom and dad don’t have to face by themselves.

Volunteers are needed to come and offer an evening to cook their favorite meal for guests, head here to sign up or donate food and toiletries: http://rmhc-reno.org/get-involved/.

You can give money as well, go to http://rmhc-reno.org/donate-2/.

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