Life was perfect for the Lambert family from Vernon, BC – until it wasn’t. One morning out of the blue, their son Bryce was diagnosed with cancer and airlifted to Vancouver for treatment. Their life became all about his throat cancer diagnosis: hospitals, treatments, and they felt like everything was out of control.
That’s when the family found a place to stay at Ronald McDonald House. Mom Kate remembers, “When we got to Ronald McDonald House, we didn’t know what to expect but things started to change for us. There was such a deep level of understanding of our situation from the staff and the volunteers but mostly the other families. You never feel alone here.”
More than a place to stay, Ronald McDonald House was a place where Bryce began to open up for the first time since his diagnosis. “He made strong connections and friends, and we started to see the Bryce that we knew more and more; social, outgoing, curious, playful. That wouldn’t have happened without a place like this,” says Bryan. Kate agrees, “It’s everything that a family needs in the hardest journey of their lives.”
The Lamberts will always remember Ronald McDonald House as a place of care that helped to make their medical journey just a bit more joyous, their family a bit more connected, and their lives for those 305 days just a bit more normal.
