Humboldt,
Saskatchewan
46 Nights
Stayed
Our first experience at Ronald McDonald House Saskatchewan occurred on July of 2021! For myself, Raelynn, it was just a normal day on June 9th, 2021, when I was experiencing some stomach cramps that didn’t go away! After a while, I decided that something wasn’t right and got my parents to come watch my 5-year-old Ava and got my husband to take me to the hospital in Humboldt as we lived in Spalding, SK, at the time! After arriving at the hospital and doing some testing, we later found out that I was pregnant, which came as a shock to us. The hospital then proceeded to send me by ambulance to JPCH to get a proper ultrasound to see how far along I was since we could not give them any sort of timeline!
After arriving in JPCH to do a proper ultrasound, the doctors informed us that I was 34 weeks and 1 day pregnant and that their professional medical opinion for the baby’s survival was to do an emergency c-section that night! So within 6 hours, I found out that I was pregnant to having a baby! Both my husband and I had woken up the next morning in the hospital and looked at each other in disbelief and asked each other, “Did that just happen? Did we just have a baby?”
Our baby Alyza was born on June 10th, 2021, at 1 a.m.! She was She was 6 weeks premature and rushed straight to the NICU unit! She had a lot of complications when she was born. Her heart was enlarged, there was fluid in her lungs, and her kidneys were not working at all! They had to hook her up to dialysis to jump-start her kidneys to start working! I was discharged on day 3, and we didn’t know what we were going to do since we lived almost two hours away! The thought of leaving her, even though we knew she was in excellent hands, broke our hearts! She was on dialysis for 5 days, fighting for her little life! On the morning of the 5th day, Alyza had a brain bleed, which caused a stroke! The doctors sat us down and told us that they were praying for her and that we all needed to pray for her because the few days were going to be crucial. After the meeting we had with the doctors, as we were walking out, we overheard one of the doctors tell the other doctor that he was the doctor that was working the morning that Alyza showed up in the NICU, and the shape she was in was so rough that he didn’t think that she would make it for two hours!
After I was discharged from the hospital, we contacted Ronald McDonald House Saskatchewan to see if they had any room for us, but at that time, COVID was still in effect, and they had to cut down on occupants in the house, but they were able to give us a discount for a hotel so that we could stay in the city with our newborn, which we were so grateful for! At the hotel, my parents brought Ava to the city so that she could be with us as well!
We were able to get into Ronald McDonald House Saskatchewan on July 1st, and I was so very thankful! The day we went was so overwhelming and amazing! The staff were absolutely amazing and so helpful! They welcomed us with open arms and made sure that we felt like we were at home! I have never experienced anything like that! Ava fell in love with all the staff; they truly did spoil her!
Alyza stayed in the NICU and they were taking care of her so well! It was so hard seeing her there hooked up to every machine imaginable. I would have to say that the hardest part of it all is not being able to hold my baby girl! It wasn’t until day 16 that I was finally able to hold her! When I walked into her room and the nurses had given me the news that I can hold her in my arms, it brought tears to my eyes!
Her team of doctors were working on a game plan and informed us that Alyza needed to have surgery to get a VP shunt implanted in her head so that the fluid that was forming in her brain could drain! We had to wait a while for the surgery because there were abrasions on her head that left a high risk of infections if we had done the surgery! So she was put on antibiotics to clear that up! She was finally cleared for surgery and it was a success! After surgery, Alyza recovered and was making tremendous progress, and thanks to Ronald McDonald House Saskatchewan, we were able to be with her every step of the way! With the help of Ronald McDonald House Saskatchewan, what should have been two excruciating months of having a newborn in the hospital, they made it feel like just a couple of weeks!
My family and I honestly don’t know how we would have survived without Ronald McDonald House Saskatchewan! They have helped us in so many ways: from support, to meals, to driving, to just making new friends! The day that Alyza was discharged, I was so very happy but so very sad at the same time! Happy that my baby girl is healthy enough to go home but so sad that we would be leaving a place that has helped us through it every step of the way!
On June 10, 2026, Alyza will be 5 years old! It’s so hard to believe that it’s been 5 years since she was born! I remember it like it was yesterday! Alyza is doing amazingly and is such a happy little girl! She has been diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy and Autism, but even with those diagnoses, she is doing so great! A friend of mine gave her a nickname when she was born. She called Alyza a Warrior Princess, and after what she has been through, I truly feel that that nickname suits her perfectly!
So to end off my story, I would like to deeply thank Ronald McDonald House Saskatchewan from the Qualie family: Raelynn, Ava, and Warrior Princess Alyza!
