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16 - The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday April 30, 2008 www.oakvillebeaver.com Saying thanks for help at home in times of tragedy By David Lea OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF A small group of students from River Oaks Public School gathered at the Ronald McDonald House in Hamilton, Thursday to offer a very special thank you for the help the charity offered when the family of a student was in dire need. The lead-up to this event is rooted in a deep tragedy and begins on June 16, 2007 when Oakville resident Doug Stewart, a devoted husband and father of four, was killed in a head-on collision near Shakespeare, Ontario. Stewart's 11-year-old daughter, Emily, who had been in the car with him, sustained severe injuries and was rushed to McMaster Hospital in Hamilton where she lay unconscious, clinging to life. For weeks, Emily's mother, Nancy, and siblings Graham, Fraser and Courtney, maintained a vigil at Emily's bedside. The doctors predicted the worst. "They called it diffuse axonal brain injury and explained it as torn nerves and neurons all over her brain," said Nancy. "They said that the prognosis is generally very poor in these cases and to not expect much. (They) spoke of her being there for at least another month and then transferring her to Bloorview for long-term care." As if dealing with such unyielding sadness was not enough, Nancy and her children still had to handle the daily issues of feeding themselves and finding shelter as returning to their home in Oakville at that time was not an option. But Ronald McDonald House was there to help. Located only a few blocks away from the hospital, Ronald McDonald House gives the families of seriously ill or DAVID LEA / OAKVILLE BEAVER TAX RIGHT AT HOME: Emily Stewart (front) and friends Devon Lowes, Sydney Murphy, Tu Nguyen, Shannon McGuire, Jennifer Thompson and Kassidy Hann show off the Canadian Tire money raised for Ronald McDonald House in Hamilton. 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Special thanks to our sponsors Vermont Castings, Union Gas & M&M Meats "MASONRY & FIREPLACE DESIGN SPECIALISTS" w w w. c o b b l e s t o n e m b e r s . c a injured children a place to stay while the children are treated. "It's all about allowing parents to concentrate on their kids," said Pearl Wolfe, the house's executive director. "It's stressful enough to go through these situations without having to worry about things like preparing dinner." For Nancy and her children the Ronald McDonald House proved to be an oasis. "It was a refuge, a home away from home," said Nancy. "We would never have left the hospital. There were at least two of us with Emily in her room at all times. We rotated between Ronald McDonald House and the hospital room. I would come here from 2 a.m. until 5 a.m. to sleep." While at Ronald McDonald House, the family remained connected to the hospital by a pager system and Nancy appreciated the kind unobtrusiveness of the people there. "In that situation, you don't really want to be talking to other people necessarily. They really just said, `We're here for you,'" said Nancy. "It really helps families, particularly families that come from a long way away because what would they do? Knowing everyone is in the same situation helps too." Two weeks went by with Emily still not regaining consciousness, but then just as the grim prognosis of the doctors appeared to be true, the unimaginable happened. "In the morning Courtney and I had been showing her pictures and Emily had been looking back with these dead, staring eyes, not recognizing anything and then Emily's friend Sydney came," said Nancy. "Sydney was standing there and talking to Emily like little kids do with a big loud voice and waving her hands around and she talked about stuff that had happened. She'd been over the day before the accident and they'd made a big hop-scotch and she was talking about that." Nancy said a little smile crept across Emily's face and her eyes snapped out of their trance and focused on Sydney. "Yeah, there were 153 squares," said Emily. The road from that day has been a challenging one, with Emily struggling to overcome problems with the executive functions of her brain, which deal with processing, organizing and problem solving. "I actually feel pretty good now," said Emily. "I had a lot of therapy and stuff, but now I just do speech pathology. Everyone thinks it's for my speech, but it's actually for my memory because I have short-term memory loss." This memory loss was particularly evident shortly after Emily awoke, as Nancy had to explain the tragedy of Doug's death to her several times. With Emily now back at River Oaks Public School four times a week, the school decided to repay Ronald McDonald House for the kindness and support shown to Emily's family during those dark days. Through the efforts of students, $800 in Canadian Tire money was raised, which will help the Ronald McDonald House purchase supplies. Nancy was able to raise an additional $500 in Canadian Tire money for Ronald McDonald House thanks to the kindness of family and friends, who she said have never wavered in their support of her since the loss of her husband. Donations like those from Nancy and River Oaks Public School are appreciated by Ronald McDonald House, as only 20 per cent of its funding comes from McDonalds Restaurants while 80 per cent come from donations. For information on the Ronald McDonald House of Hamilton visit www.rmhhamilton.ca. Think Green. Breathe Easy. HUGE CENTRAL AIR & FURNACE $ Up to SALE BEST PRICES EVER! 2950* MANUFACTURERS CASH BACK Cash Back AND NO PAYMENT! NO INTEREST! FOR 6 MONTHS *OAC HYDRO CASH BACK UP TO UP TO UP TO $1400 + $1000 + $550 GOV. CASH BACK *Call for details. 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