Ronald McDonald House of the Bluegrass
The Lexington Medical Society Foundation awarded a grant to the Ronald McDonald House of the Bluegrass at their recent board meeting. The LMS Foundation is a long-time supporter of the Ronald McDonald House, annually awarding grants to support their mission. Here is an impact story on how these grants are being used to support Kentucky families.
On April 5th, 2021 Sam and Billy Ratliff would be delivered news that no parent wants to hear. Born at only 26 weeks, their twins, Lukas and Samuel, lives were at risk and they would have to travel hours from home to get them the life-saving care they would need to survive.
Born at 2 pounds and 3 ounces, the Ratliff twins had to be rushed to Kentucky Children’s Hospital (KCH) in Lexington, Kentucky, three hours away from their home in Pikeville. A nurse in the NICU at KCH let Sam and Billy know they would be eligible to stay at the Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) of the Bluegrass, just minutes away from the hospital, so they wouldn’t have to worry about where they would stay while their boys were growing strong in the hospital. Unfortunately, the Ratliff’s had to leave their five-year-old son, Eli, at home with his grandparents three hours away due to COVID-19 family restrictions in place at RMHC.
Just one week into their stay, Sam and Billy’s prayers about the COVID family restrictions were lifted. Now instead of hours away, the Ratliff’s were able to bring Eli to stay with them at RMHC so the whole family would be just minutes away from the twins. They were finally where they needed to be: together.
“Just thinking about how blessed we both were, how great of people that we work with. As a police officer and a school counselor we are always able to help people. It felt good to be able to receive help back. If I had one word to describe the Ronald McDonald House it would probably be family because it truly felt like a family. You’re actually in a home with those family members who want to take away all of the stress and the burdens of life so that your main focus is being with your loved one. It is a complete blessing that we were able to stay here.” – Sam Ratliff
Link to their video: https://bit.ly/rmhcratliff
