Having a child describe a strange pain to you can be nerve racking. Having it happen to a child while you’re travelling in the remote Australian outback can be terrifying.
That’s exactly what happened to 16-year-old Chloe Amery, who told her parents Emma and Jarrod that had a pain in her hip, and woke up several nights in tears. According to Emma, “Chloe has always been fit and athletic and a tough farm girl — never showing much pain.”
After travelling through outback Northern Territory to find a hospital, tests were done in Mt. Isa and doctors told Emma and Jarrod words no parent wants to hear: “We think Chloe has cancer.”
The next day, the family flew to Westmead Children’s Hospital in Sydney, and after many tests and scans, Chloe was diagnosed with ewing sarcoma, a tumour in and around her bone. It could be treated, but the treatment schedule was set to last nine months.
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Luckily, for a family who’d never been in a Sydney hospital before and had never expected to be at one for the better part of a year, the Ronald McDonald House came to the rescue.
“Our oncologist and our social worker organised Ronald McDonald House accommodation for us,” Emma says.
“I remember the first night asking, ‘How do I arrange to pay for the accommodation? Being told we were being sponsored to stay and that it was a gift – that was extremely overwhelming.”
Chloe’s family were just one of over 10,000 families in 2023 that were able to take a break from the long and emotional hours spent bedside in hospitals. And much of the added stressors of day-to-day life are all handled by the RMHC team.
“When we leave from the hospital back over to our room we can immediately relax and unwind,” Emma says.
“Many nights delicious dinners are served in the dining room. Now, I actually love cooking, but at this point in what is happening with Chloe’s journey, I am so grateful not to have to think about what I will cook for dinner.”
What’s even more special is that Chloe’s whole family has been able to stay at Ronald McDonald House over the weekends. Not only that, but Chloe’s younger siblings have been able to make use of some of the facilities.
“The little ones particularly would love to stay all of the time!” Emma says.
“They’ve been in the playground and in the learning centre doing activities; all of the kids have given the bike track a workout.”
Ronald McDonald House Charities helps thousands and thousands of Aussie families during some of the most difficult times of their lives. And McHappy Day is all about encouraging all of us to pitch in and help RMHC provide that essential aid to even more families.
This year, McHappy Day is taking place on Saturday, November 16. Like always, $2 of every Big Mac purchased will go straight to helping RMHC. But, right now, you can also help by purchasing a Helping Hand (for $2, $10 and $50) or by getting a pair of Grimace or McNugget Buddies Fold-Down Silly Socks for $5.95.
Every dollar donated helps — in 2023, McHappy Day raised over $6.4 million to help RMHC provide over 40,000 nights of a home away from home for seriously ill or injured children and their families, while undergoing treatment or surgery in hospital. And since McHappy Day started in 1991, Aussies have helped to raise a colossal $67 million for RHMC.
Ronald McDonald House Charities has changed thousands of lives, just like that of Chloe’s family, and 2024 is the chance for us to help them change thousands more.
Emma outlined all the ways RHMC has helped her, Chloe and their family.
“We can focus on Chloe’s treatment, we have such a comfortable room to retreat to, we don’t have to think about where we will be or how to get around, we have beautiful meals and our whole family can stay together.”
To help change the lives of families just like Chloe’s, head to your local McDonald’s on McHappy Day — Saturday, November 16 — and be sure to order a Big Mac or buy a Helping Hand from your local McDonald's.
Grimace and McNugget Buddies Fold-Down Silly Socks are available in Macca’s restaurants nationwide, via drive thru, kiosk and front counter, as well as the MyMacca’s app and McDelivery, right now while stocks last.
You can also head here to learn more about McHappy Day.
Jackson Langford