Curley Family

Karen Curley arrived at Hasbro Children’s Hospital with her daughter Shannon just before Thanksgiving 2008. Shannon was being treated for a chronic pain condition called Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy, which had plagued her for several years. By the time they reached the Ronald McDonald house, they were both exhausted.

That’s why, as they stayed at the House for the next 14 weeks during Shannon’s treatment, Karen experienced something, too: Healing. Karen and Shannon, who are from Connecticut, had no idea what to expect when they first checked them into the House. Karen was more than a little nervous about the living arrangements and how she didn’t know anyone in this new place. But her mind was quickly put as ease.

She discovered how they began to build lifelong friendships with people who shared the common bond of families going through emotional crisis as they coped with their own health challenges. She saw how people, so intensely focused on the own families, also could reach out to show support and compassion to one another. The peaceful, positive and healing environment of the House lifted her spirits daily and brought a sense of joy into their lives at a time when it didn’t seem possible.

Karen had no idea how therapeutic the Ronald McDonald House would turn out for both her and Shannon. Karen talks now of how she feels that she became a better, more thankful person for having experienced what she calls this “home away from home.”

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