HARLINGEN — Her placid face concealed the pain stirring behind her eyes.
Daisy Perez, 18, moved slowly about the dining room of the Ronald McDonald House, pixie-faced Jennelle, 1, toddling along behind her.
The innocence in her wondering eyes, right before Christmas, might be a source of envy for some, especially for people like her mother.
Daisy should be lost in the joy of her newborn, too. But just days after Baby Jonathan’s arrival, he became suddenly, mysteriously and frighteningly ill.
“He has an infection,” said Daisy, a La Feria resident. “They still don’t know what kind of infection. He’s on oxygen. He’s still not breathing on his own. They had to give him a spinal tap and insert a feeding tube into his nose.”
This is a parent’s worst nightmare. Fortunately, she’s able to stay at Ronald McDonald House at 1720 Treasure Hills Blvd. The facility is right next door to Valley Baptist Medical Center where Jonathan’s staying. Otherwise, she’d be in even more dire straits.
“I don’t have a car,” she said. “It would be hard for me to get a ride over here,”
At the moment, her mother was visiting the baby. They were taking turns. Daisy’s other daughter, Jazzlynn, 2, was asleep in their room. There were plenty of things for the children to do, including a play area with stuffed animals. A large green Kermit the Frog lay next to a huge Tweety Bird.
“They like the horse and the piano,” Daisy said, gesturing toward a brown furry rocking horse in the play area. A piano stood just outside the room.
Daisy and her family are lucky to have the Ronald McDonald House, which provides a home-style atmosphere for families whose children are receiving treatment at the hospital. There are several such facilities throughout the Valley.
The Harlingen house is one of 20 agencies this year benefitting from donations to the annual AIM Charities Fund Drive.
AIM Charities was founded three years ago by AIM Media Texas, which owns the Valley Morning Star, The Monitor, The Brownsville Herald, Mid Valley Town Crier, El Nuevo Heraldo, El Extra and Coastal Current.
“We are very excited,” said Denise Cantu, program manager, recalling the news they would receive donations from the fund drive. The money is clearly needed.
“Right now, we don’t have money in our pantry for food,” she said. “We do have some donations but not enough.”
The facility spends an average of almost $1,000 a month on food.
Between 20 and 50 families come through the Ronald McDonald House each month and occupy one of six bedrooms, spacious rooms with queen-sized beds. A large kitchen has accommodations for three people to prepare three separate meals at one time on stoves, microwave ovens and a large kitchen island.
A living room offers a comfortable place to watch TV. Children can have their pick of books and DVDs. Outside, families can cook in a barbecue and eat in the shade. A playhouse nearby invites children to enjoy some make-believe time. The house overall seems to turn down the stress level for families in crisis.
“They feel very much at home,” Cantu said. “This is pretty much as if it’s their own home. It’s open 24 hours. They can come in and out.”
