A photo taken of the Ashby family at the completion of young Kai's cancer treatments. (Submitted photo/ Aubrey Ashby)

By Nigel Maxwell

Family supports

Meath Park family grateful for support of Ronald McDonald House

May 10, 2022 | 5:00 PM

Aubrey Ashby believes if it hadn’t been for the Ronald McDonald House (RMH) in Saskatoon, the journey for his family would have been much different.

Last September, Ashby’s then 16-month-old son Kai was diagnosed with a malignant germ cell tumor which had metastasized in his pelvis and lungs. He would be transported to Saskatoon to receive cancer treatments at the Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital. Over the course of the next four months, the family from Meath Park would spend 84 days at Ronald McDonald House.

“Having the ability to just stay in Saskatoon and not travel as much as we needed to, was definitely a life saver for us,” Ashby told paNOW.

Wednesday is National McHappy Day. A portion of proceeds from all menu items go to help keep Ronald McDonald Houses and rooms running. Prior to their stay, Ashby acknowledged he knew the building was there, but had no knowledge of the process to get in, what services were provided, or of the simple donation request of $10 a night, which pales in comparison to paying for a hotel room.

“Which is nothing short of miraculous just because $10 a night to stay with your family in one spot, there is really nothing that can assist with the healing process better than when you have all your family in one place,” he said.

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All five members of the Ashby family were given the opportunity to stay in Saskatoon. (Submitted photo/ Aubrey Ashby)

In addition to providing laundry service, and offering wellness programs (yoga, pet therapy), RMH has food programs in the house where volunteers help provide the meals for the families. On top of that is the benefit of being surrounded by other families.

“We built a couple good friendships with a couple of different families from across the province. We were fortunate enough to be able to lean on those families while they leaned on us and we just helped each other get through what we were there for,” Ashby said.

As for Kai, who is now two, he’s now in remission and very much doing all things other toddlers his age are doing.

(Submitted photo/ Aubrey Ashby)

While the fundraising drive is nation wide, all funds raised in Saskatchewan stay in the province.

With one Ronald McDonald House in Saskatoon, and one Ronald McDonald Family Room in Prince Albert, RMHC Saskatchewan supports more than 1,700 families from more than 200 communities in an average year and saves families more than $2.6 million annually in out-of-pocket expenses.

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nigel.maxwell@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell