Parents who used a Ronald McDonald House when their children were seriously ill have urged the public to support a local man raising funds for the facilities.
Phil Drowley hopes to become the first local man to scale the highest mountains in all seven continents when he tackles 15,629-foot Carstenz Pyramid in Australasia in November.
The 46-year old, a father and grandfather, will have to trek through the jungle for a week to reach the foot of the mountain and then cross from one of its peaks to the other via a Tyrolean rope – possibly his toughest challenge to date. If he succeeds, he’ll be one of just 230 climbers ever to achieve the seven summits challenge.
As with his first climb, Kilimanjaro, completed with four colleagues from the Isle of Man Constabulary back in 2000, Phil is raising money for Ronald McDonald House Isle of Man Families and Friends via www.JustGiving.com/PhilDrowley
The charity was formed by Port St Mary couple Andy and Alison Kelly, whose daughter Freya died of a congenital heart condition aged nearly two. Andy and Alison and their son Ben stayed at the Ronald McDonald House adjacent to Liverpool’s Alder Hey Hospital when Freya was seriously ill. Since then the charity has raised ?350,000 for Ronald McDonald Houses up and down the country.
Sara and Julian Lalor-Smith were at Ronald McDonald House for three months while their youngest son, Mark, was in Alder Hey. Mark faced 19 operations after he was hit by a car during a family holiday to Turkey in June.
‘Our twins were also provided with a home from home when they visited from the Island, which allowed us all to be together, which was so crucial while we faced the tragedy of Mark losing his leg,’ said the couple.
‘Having a place to stay just minutes from the hospital was incredibly important. It allowed us to try and sleep while being able to go to Mark’s bed side at a moment’s notice when he needed emergency surgery. It was also critically important when Mark was allowed out from his ward because we had a home, in the flat we were provided with, where we could encourage Mark to eat and return to a semblance of normal family life, especially when the twins visited.
‘We arrived from Turkey and were welcomed in the middle of the night to somewhere to sleep and live removing this worry so we could concentrate on supporting Mark.
‘We have thought many times about what we would have done without this fantastic facility. A hotel down the road, the closest option, would have cost us a fortune and its distance would have made being on call to make decisions about Mark’s immediate treatment impossible.’
Julian and Sara continued: ‘Despite the difficulties parents are experiencing while at Ronald McDonald House it is a very positive and safe place where parents talk and mutually support each other it is indescribable how valuable this facility is to anyone who finds themselves in our position.’
The Lalor-Smiths, who live in Foxdale, did the Peel New Year’s Day Dip for Hospice this year and intend to do it again for Ronald McDonald House Isle of Man Families and Friends in 2014 to give a little back and ensure this lifeline remains open for other parents.
The couple said: ‘We have received incredible support from the people of the Island since Mark’s accident and we would ask one more thing – please support Phil in raising funds for this charity. It is so important.’
A check-up at Alder Hey Hospital led to an unplanned and lengthy stay at Ronald McDonald House for Daphne and Chris Caine, from Maughold.
Daphne said: ‘I was in total denial when told my four-year-old son, Joshua, had a tumour in his neck vertebra that could either kill him or mean he was paralysed from the neck down.
‘We were instantly accommodated at Ronald McDonald House, too shell-shocked to fully appreciate it. Weeks of tests and biopsies followed and we were extremely thankful: mother, father and baby sister living in a home from home, free of charge.
‘We shopped, cooked, ate, slept, chewed our finger nails, did the laundry. Ronald McDonald House was like a big hug, a warm place to go after the ward, somewhere to digest shocking news and medical updates, with our own fridge and freezer, cupboard and hob.
‘The most valuable thing was talking to other parents, some also from the Isle of Man, going through traumatic journeys of their own. It comforted us and distracted us from our own stresses.’
Joshua is now doing well after being treated for 12 months on chemotherapy.
Daphne said: ‘We lived at Ronald McDonald House for five weeks – the worst time of our lives, made bearable by being able to be together, having our own bedroom and bathroom. It also removed the worry over finding somewhere to stay and the additional financial outlay that would have entailed, and that we would have struggled to cope with. It's completely impossible to convey how vital it was. Thank you Ronald McDonald House and everyone who ever supported this charity.’
Phil – who became the only local man to conquer Everest in 2008 – sets off to complete his ‘mountain odyssey’ on 2nd November. As well as online, donations can also be left at any police station, marked for him.
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