After a 10-month stay at the Ronald McDonald House, Brittney Crowell of Macon, GA is especially grateful at this special time of year to celebrate her 22-month-old twins Khloee and Karmella's long-awaited homecoming. Born in January 2010, the girls were diagnosed with a rare blood disorder called hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) in which an excess of infection-fighting cells causes inflammation and damage to a variety of organs. Treatment includes chemotherapy, and the only known cure for HLH is bone marrow transplantation. The twins underwent life-saving transplant surgeries in the summer of 2010. In addition to chemotherapy, the more fragile Khloee received radiation.

After staying at her babies’ sides in the hospital for 292 days, Brittney was able to move with them into the Ronald McDonald House’s Carlos and Marguerite Mason Transplant Wing in January of this year. Just a week later on January 19, Brittney was grateful to celebrate her daughters’ first birthday in their new home away from home. She shares, “I baked them their first cake at the House, with icing and candles. They loved it.”

Although Brittney had heard of Ronald McDonald Houses before, she wasn’t sure what to expect. What she found was a warm place with everything she needed to help focus on her daughters’ recovery provided. “The volunteers who serve food every night are such a blessing, and the girls have gotten so many toys,” she said. Now, she expresses her gratitude by telling everyone about what the House does for families and how they can help by doing something as simple as dropping change in a donation box at McDonald’s.

Brittney is also grateful for her experience at the Ronald McDonald House because the kindness of the staff, volunteers and other families showed her how something good can come out of something bad.  “When you come to the House, it’s like a whole other universe. Even though people here are going  through a lot, everyone has a smile on their face—that’s what I like about it.”