Have you ever said "yes" to buying a helping hand for McHappy Day?
This Forbes family really appreciates that.
The Amerys have spent about a third of the past year in Ronald McDonald House while their daughter Chloe has been having treatment for ewing sarcoma - a cancer where there is tumour in and around the bone.
Ronald McDonald House has been a blessed retreat, mum Emma said, through those long months of Chloe's treatment at Westmead hospital.
"You walk across the road and you're at Ronald McDonald House: you're not in your own home but you almost feel like you're home because you're in a place that's really comfortable, really welcoming, provides everything you need," Emma said.
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Chloe's diagnosis was a real shock: the family of eight was on a caravan holiday to Western Australia when Chloe began to experience hip pain.
"Chloe's not a complainer either," her mum said. "She's an active kind of farm girl, but we knew when she was really upset and in pain that Panadol couldn't fix that there's definitely a problem."
They stopped by a hospital in Mt Isa, Queensland to get blood tests and scans.
To their dismay, Chloe was diagnosed with cancer and the doctor recommended they fly down to Sydney Children's Hospital the very next morning.
Chloe was treated by an oncology team, and was organised a stay at Ronald McDonald House Westmead.
Being told their stay was sponsored and there would be no cost for their accommodation was overwhelming.
And in the months that followed the family came to understand just how invaluable the charity's work is.
Dad Jarrod and the other children were able to come to the House several times while Chloe was there.
"They fit your whoel family in, they want families to be together which is really great," Emma said.
"Our younger kids particularly loved it - there was a great playground, it was fun, there was a bike track. We were just all together, it was great."
For Chloe and Emma, the House was a place they could retreat away from the hospital environment, whether it was for necessities like washing or just to have a sit-down and something to eat in a non-hospital environment.
Chloe rang the bell after her final treatment in September and came home in time to undertake the first three of her senior school exams at Parkes Christian School, where they complete the HSC as a compressed curriculum over two years. She'll now begin the next phase of Year 12 studies.
The family's all home in time for harvest on the farm at Mulyandry.
Saturday is McHappy Day, and restaurants in Parkes and Forbes have already started selling helping hands to raise funds for the charity.
It's a cause Emma has supported in the past - now she genuinely understands the impact those
"I want to thank all the people who have donated before and who will donate in the future because they actually do make a really big difference," Emma said.
"It's hard to describe it unless you've been in it but I know everyone who's there and who has used the service so appreciate it - this is a life saver."
The Amerys are one of 2000 families who stayed at Ronald McDonald Family House Westmead from the total 10,200 families accommodated by RMHC each year.
Funds raised during McHappy Time and on McHappy Day, Saturday November 16 will help Ronald McDonald House Charities.
You can:
Pick up a pair of Silly Socks for $5.95, or Helping Hands for $2, $10, or $50, from Macca’s or via McDelivery from now and on McHappy Day;
Buying a Big Mac from their local Macca’s or via McDelivery on McHappy Day (Saturday), with $2 from every Big Mac sold going directly to RMHC;
Purchase Macca’s Makers, a 56-piece limited-edition brick building set for $36.95 with 100 per cent of profits being donated to Ronald McDonald House Charities;
Make a donation in Macca’s restaurants, or online by visiting www.rmhc.org.au/give
