25 Years of Memories...

The refuge of Ronald McDonald House

The Radu Family Story

The Radu family was one of the last to stay at the old Ronald McDonald House in Calgary, and one of the first in the new House which opened its doors in 2007.

"When we first walked into the new House, I remember thinking 'wow, how can we be so lucky as to have this place during this tough time'," explains dad Richard Radu. "The curved staircase, fireplace, open dining room and the privacy of our room all contributed to a great environment that was a refuge from everyday pressures."

The Radus' everyday pressures centered around caring for their normally soccer-loving, guitar-playing 13 year old, Stephen. On November 24, 2006, after a few months of headaches, nausea and listlessness, he had been diagnosed with an orange-sized mass at his brain stem at the Red Deer hospital.

"That's when our long journey began," recounts Richard. "We left that night for the Stollery hospital in Edmonton and further tests were done along with surgery to relieve the fluid buildup in Stephen's head. The mass was identified as a Primitive Neuroectodermal Tumour, or P-NET for short, an aggressive type of brain cancer."

Their journey took them through a day-long session of brain surgery, five rounds of chemo, radiation, four stem cell transplants, cerebral mutism (a side effect of the surgery where Stephen could not talk for four months and lost his fine motor skills), and 204 days in the Edmonton, Red Deer, and Calgary hospitals.

During their stay in Calgary, the family turned to Ronald McDonald House for shelter, but discovered so much more. "We bonded with so many other families," adds Richard. "The camaraderie is amazing. Sometimes you just needed a shoulder to lean on and someone was always there. Other times, you would be that shoulder for someone else."

Richard also laughs about another discovery he made - his chart-topping pinball skills. "Stephen was too ill to take full advantage of all the House had to offer, but I quite enjoyed the teen room and managed to hold high score on the pinball machine for quite a while!"

"The House enabled our whole family to be under one roof. Our daughter Lara, who was 16 at the time, joined us when she wasn't in school and it was so important for her to be able to chat with her mom or me, or visit her brother whenever she wanted to. We could all focus on Stephen and the things that were critical to our family. Never did we have to contemplate the long-term ramifications of being away from home for so long. We didn't have to think about how we would pay for a long hotel stay or how we would manage long commutes to and from the hospital."

The Radu's are still travelling their journey, but now it's a road to recovery. Stephen's tumor is gone and the family is moving ahead one step at time.