Ronald McDonald has served 185 Cassville families

Starting today (Wednesday), 70 McDonald’s Restaurants in the Ozarks — including Cassville — will begin encouraging customers to support Springfield’s two Ronald McDonald Houses by donating $1, $5 or $20 and adopting a heart.

With every heart adopted, the contributor will have an opportunity to enter a social media contest holding their signed heart with the message “I shared my heart #forRMHCozarks” for a chance to win one of four $250 Great Southern MasterCard gift cards.

The campaign will last for 37 days, from Jan. 24 through Feb. 29. Over 40 mayors in the participating region are being asked to support the campaign by proclaiming February 12-18 “Ronald McDonald House Week” in their towns. Cassville Mayor Bill Shiveley has traditionally made a proclamation in honor of the week.

On any given night, up to 24 families of seriously-ill children are staying at Springfield’s two Ronald McDonald Houses. The Ronald McDonald House near Cox South Hospital has 14 bedrooms and has been welcoming families for more than 35 years: and the 10-bedroom Ronald McDonald House at Mercy Kids has been helping families for 11 years.

More than 15,700 families — 794 in Barry County and 185 from Cassville — have found a “home-away-from-home,” hope and comfort at Springfield’s Ronald McDonald Houses, including nearly 600 in 2023.

Barry County ranked No. 4 overall in 2023, with 35 families staying 478 nights. The most common diagnosis of children of families staying, as of 2022, include prematurity, respiratory, neurological, trauma and infection/illness.

Thanks to the generosity of the Ozarks, Ronald McDonald House families receive homecooked meals through the organization’s “Meals from the Heart” Program, laundry facilities, transportation to hospitals, and support from volunteers and staff who truly care.

The most needed and appreciated benefit is shared between families as they share hope, comfort, and a true understanding of having an ill or injured child.

One Monett family who received assistance in 2023 has opened their hearts to Share a Heart to help the cause.

“On February 27, 2023, our lives changed forever with the simple phrase, “You’re having twins!” said Carissa McLean, who birthed twin sons, Conner & Carter. “Little did we know the rollercoaster of emotions, and events that we would soon be facing as our little boys fought for their lives.

“At 16 weeks, we found out the twins suffered from a serious umbilical cord disorder. After an emergency trip to St. Louis to finalize the diagnosis, our twins were both diagnosed with “AEDF” or Absent End Diastolic Flow, which is often seen in early pregnancy, but usually resolves itself by week 16. Unfortunately for our twins, it did not resolve.”

AEDF is a serious, often fatal condition in which blood and oxygen are not properly flowing from the placenta through the umbilical cord to the baby.

“At this point, we did not know how far we would be able to carry the twins and what their chances of survival would actually be\,” McLean said. “We continued ultrasounds twice a week to monitor this condition, knowing that one or both babies could stop receiving blood and oxygen at any time. Around 28 weeks gestation, one of the twins started showing signs of ‘reverse flow’ meaning not only was there a struggle getting oxygen and blood to him, but it was being sent back to the placenta intermittently.”

At 30 weeks and 2 days, McLean’s doctors made the decision to deliver Conner and Carter via C-section for the safety of mother, and one of the twins that had stopped growing.

“Our twins were born at 2 pounds, 11 ounces and 3 pounds, 4 ounces on Aug. 10, 2023,” McLean said. “This is when our time at the Ronald McDonald House began. Nothing prepares you to be discharged from the hospital and not be able to take your babies home with you, especially when you live an hour away from the hospital. To say we are thankful for the opportunity to not only stay at the Ronald McDonald House but also for the staff would be an understatement. They provided us a safe place to stay that was close to our twins.”

McLean said each night, the family was provided a meal, shuttle service was provided as needed, and the family was welcomed with open arms by the staff.

“Unfortunately, about halfway through our twins NICU journey, one twin took a turn and was life flighted to Kansas City Children’s Mercy Hospital,” McLean said. “This meant we had one twin in Springfield and one in Kansas City, We were devastated and lost. When the staff at RMHC found out, they immediately contacted Kansas City’s RMHC to get us a room. While we made the tough decision to stay in Kansas City with one twin, the staff at RMHC in Springfield made special stops by our other twin’s room to send us updates and pictures.

“We truly can’t thank them enough or explain how much this meant to us during such a difficult time.”

On Oct. 5 and Oct. 7, Conner and Carter were discharged from the NICU.

“A day after we checked out, one twin stopped breathing and went unresponsive,” McLean said. “He was immediately rushed back to Springfield NICU where we spent another nine days. Upon our arrival back to the hospital. RMHC once again reached out and immediately provided us with a room as well as anything we needed for our other twin.

“We will forever be grateful for the generosity and open arms