Some Calgarians who are grateful for the support they received during a family health crisis are now helping the charity that helped them.
It started after an ultrasound when Sarah Bourne was 20 weeks pregnant showed her baby had a defective heart.
Bourne and her family travelled to Edmonton for her delivery, to be ready to receive treatment from the heart specialists at the Stollery Children’s Hospital.
“She had surgery five days after she was born,” Bourne said of her baby Ophelia. “And then we came back six months later for a second (operation).”
During Ophelia’s open heart surgeries and for several days while she recovered, Bourne and her family stayed at the Ronald McDonald House in Edmonton.
“It was nice, ’cause the house really met all of our needs,” Bourne said. “So we could focus all of our energy and attention to Ophelia and the hospital.”
The family group is comprised of Bourne and her husband Matthew, along with Ophelia’s older brothers, Liam,10, and Ivor, 5.
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Bourne’s mother, Roxanne Harty, also stayed at the Ronald McDonald House to provide extra support.
“They helped us so much to get Ophelia better,” Liam said.
WATCH: Ronald McDonald House Charities help more than a thousand Alberta families every year. Now, you can help too by lacing up for the annual Hustle for the House walk and run.
Ronald McDonald House Charities Alberta provides a welcoming environment in which families can stay when they travel for medical treatment for a child.
When families are staying at a RMH, they also enjoy activities aimed at making young patients’ siblings feel at home.
“It has lots of toys that you can play (with),” Ivor said.
The Bournes are now helping the RMH by taking part in the annual “Hustle for the House” run in Calgary.
The event raises money to support the houses around Alberta — in Calgary, Edmonton and Red Deer — with one opening soon in Medicine Hat.
“It was our lifeline while we were (in Edmonton)” Harty said. “And then (we can help) raise money so they can continue doing the awesome things they do for the families.”
Ophelia is now almost a year and a half old, with the family set to travel back to Edmonton in a few months, for what should be her final heart surgery.
“They’re kind of re-plumbing the way her blood goes from her body and her lungs through her heart,” Bourne said.
About 600 participants helped the 2018 Hustle for the House raise $160,000, with organizers hoping for another good turnout this year.
The event takes place Sunday, Sept. 15 at North Glenmore Park.
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