Dear Friends of San Diego’s Ronald McDonald House,
We’re Michael and Kimberly Ballmann from Fallbrook. Four years ago, we were looking forward to the birth of our fourth child. During the pregnancy, her doctors had let us know of potential issues with her kidneys, but even they didn’t expect how serious those issues would be.
At birth, she went to the NICU, with the expectation she’d be out soon. Two days later, Michael was woken to hear: “Your daughter has no kidney function.”
It was terrible, unexpected news. We didn’t know how long she would survive, or what her quality of life might be.
We absolutely had to be with her for whatever time she had, doing whatever we could to help her survive.
But home, and our other children, were an hour away. Managing between the two seemed impossible.
Staying at the Ronald McDonald House was an answer to our prayer.
It became our “home away from home” for two and a half months. The location couldn’t be more perfect, being right across from the hospital. One of us could stay with our three older children while the other would be with Bethany in the NICU each night. At the House, we could enjoy meals together, and activities for our children, too.
We didn’t realize we needed the Ronald McDonald House as much as we did until we had been staying there for some time. It helped us find peace and stability when we didn’t know what the next day would bring. It helped us stay together, pray together, and focus on Bethany and her care.
No better place to be
For families wanting to be close to their children during very challenging times, there isn’t a better place to be. All the critical things that are needed – food, shelter, essential resources – are in this one place, plus kind people, too.
It hasn’t been easy, especially for Bethany: she went through a total of 11 surgeries. We’ve had good news, too: after several surgeries, the nephrology team found that one of Bethany’s kidneys was working!
Today, Bethany is a normal, healthy girl. She’s our little sunbeam of cheerfulness and joy. She loves helping in the kitchen and playing with dinosaurs and our new cat, Waffles. She brings so much happiness into whatever place she is. We are so thankful that God answered our prayers for her recovery.
Now that we know what a difference the Ronald McDonald House makes, we give to help other families stay together near their child.
We came back to serve a meal this summer. It means a lot to be able to give back for what we’ve benefited from so greatly.
Here we are before serving lunch at the House.
We are very grateful to everyone who was involved in our path toward healing: her doctors, nurses, hospital staff, and of course, the Ronald McDonald House.
Thank you for caring and giving.
Warmly,
Michael & Kimberly Ballmann
Here we are with Bethany!