Meet the McBrides, the first-ever Global Spokesfamily for Ronald McDonald House. At 25 weeks pregnant, Jules McBride and her husband, Jevon, were in a car accident that would change their lives, severely injuring them both. Jules needed an emergency C-section, bringing their daughter, Juliana, into the world months early, weighing just 1 pound, 10 ounces.
Juliana was later diagnosed with a Grade 4 brain bleed and hydrocephalus. While Juliana was fighting for her life in the NICU, Jules and Jevon were dealing with their own recoveries. Jules was in a wheelchair, while Jevon would need multiple surgeries and countless hours of physical therapy to learn how to walk again.
That's when a hospital social worker told her about Ronald McDonald House, a place where families can stay near the hospital while their child receives medical care. The McBrides’ first stay at Ronald McDonald House lasted 105 days, and it gave them a place to rest and recover while staying close to Juliana. "I was scared when we first arrived because I had just left my husband and baby at the hospital, but there was also an overwhelming sense of relief knowing I was still so close," she recalls.
When your child is seriously ill, the everyday questions don't disappear. How do we get from the bed we're healing in to the bedside where our baby is fighting? "I was so worried about how Jules would travel between our home, the hospital, and Juliana's NICU while she was injured herself," Jevon remembers.
"But Ronald McDonald House gave us a way to stay close to Juliana and eventually come back together as a family." Jules' mother, Alison, stayed with her at the House during the first eight weeks, helping care for her while she recovered. When Jevon was discharged from the hospital, he joined them there so the family could stay close to Juliana. Jules calls Ronald McDonald House "such a gift," providing "all the essentials of everyday life." Around daily hospital visits, they had accessible rooms and bathrooms, a place for Jevon to continue physical therapy, storage for breast milk, home-cooked meals, and somewhere to rest after long days in the NICU.
"It gave us a home near Juliana rather than forcing us to face everything separately," Jevon says. "I could visit her every day, stay close to her care team, and be present for her treatment without worrying about where we would sleep or how we would manage basic needs," Jules says. Hospital life is loud and relentless.
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