While two-year-old Willow’s little brother Kai was in the NICU, she could often be found “helping” at the front desk of Ronald McDonald House Missoula, collecting papers from the printer, running to answer the doorbell or pulling the cart while staff stocked storage shelves.
And when Randy, the maintenance manager, pulled out his guitar during a break, Willow danced as he played.
“It was such a simple moment, but it represents so much of what Ronald McDonald House gave our family,” Willow’s mom, Justine Burgoyne, said. “Little pockets of childhood, laughter and normal life in the middle of something incredibly difficult.”
Those moments became especially important as weeks in the NICU turned into months.
Kai was born with complications affecting his airway and lungs, beginning a six-month NICU journey that would take the Burgoyne family from Missoula to Salt Lake City and back again.
Because the family lived an hour from Missoula, driving back and forth every day, especially during a Montana winter, wasn’t safe or realistic. Ronald McDonald House Missoula gave parents Chris and Justine, and their daughter Willow a place to stay close to Kai.
The family spent Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter at the House while Kai was hospitalized. Staff and volunteers made those days feel special with decorations, holiday meals and thoughtful gifts. And at the end of long days at the hospital, Chris and Justine could return to a warm meal, take a shower, do laundry and rest before beginning again the next day.
“More than anything, I remember the people,” Justine said. “The staff and volunteers celebrated our victories, cried with us through the hard days, laughed with us when we needed it, and surrounded us with kindness.”
After three months in the NICU in Missoula, Kai was transferred to Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City for specialized care and a tracheostomy. The family spent two months at the Ronald McDonald House there before returning to Missoula for the final month of his NICU stay.
Today, Chris, Justine, Willow and Kai are finally together at home. Kai continues to reach new milestones, while Willow has happily settled into her role as big sister.
Looking back, Justine hopes everyone who supports Ronald McDonald House understands what their generosity means to families like hers.
“You’re giving families so much more than a room,” she said. “You’re giving parents more time beside their child’s hospital bed, an exhausted family a meal they didn’t have to think about, and a sibling a place where she can still laugh, play and dance.”
