Grateful parents repay the gift of charity
The chance to see her newborn baby boy at any hour was a valuable gift at a difficult time for Rebecca O’Neale.
Last year, O’Neale and her husband Gavin, based at Riversdale Beach, a small Wairarapa community 155 kilometres from Wellington, were expecting their first child.
On June 12, O’Neale went into labour. Everything was going by the book – ‘‘hunky dory’’, she said – until she was handed her newborn son, Luke.
‘‘They gave him to me and I sort of looked at him and looked at my husband across the bed and said ‘he’s not breathing’.’’
Alarms went off and paediatricians came rushing in. ‘‘They must’ve pressed the big red button,’’ O’Neale said.
The decision was made – they needed to get to Wellington Hospital’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). Lack of oxygen to Luke’s brain put him at risk of brain damage and O’Neale needed attention too after the umbilical cord snapped during birth.
An ambulance ended up taking them to Wellington and what followed was a twoweek hospital stay for Luke. Doctors ran through a variety of treatments, from breathing tubes to keeping him chilled to reduce the risk of swelling in the brain.
With their home more than 150km away, the O’Neales were offered a place to stay at the Ronald McDonald House – a facility they didn’t even know existed.
‘‘It’s an awful bubble. You feel so isolated and it’s just you against the world. That’s how you feel because no one expects you to have a baby [sick] in hospital, so to have someone come and give you a cuddle and say here’s a place to sleep, here’s a fridge of ready-made meals – it’s just incredible.’’
She said the other families staying there formed a support network around one another.
After two weeks, Luke and his family were sent back over the hill with the immediate danger over. O’Neale said despite numerous tests, they never found out what caused Luke’s medical issues.
Nowadays, Luke is a ‘‘happy, healthy’’ 8-month-old. ‘‘Looking at him, you wouldn’t even know,’’ she said.
Both her and Gavin held an overwhelming amount of gratitude to the medical professionals, friends, strangers and to the Ronald McDonald House.
To give back, they signed up to RMHC New Zealand’s upcoming fundraiser, House To House, starting on March 1.
Around the country, people have been signing up to walk, run, cycle or swim 210 kilometres over the month of March, with the challenge of raising at least $210 each – the cost of one night’s accommodation, a welcome pack and meal staples at Ronald McDonald House.
‘‘Luke’s not quite walking yet but he will be doing many kilometres with me.’’
Collectively, the charity is hoping participants will clock up 100,556km of travel – the distance New Zealand families travel monthly to get from their homes to a Ronald McDonald House.
Support the O’Neale family through their everyday hero page. To learn more about House To House and to sign up, visit housetohouse.org.nz.
‘‘They gave him to me and I sort of looked at him and looked at my husband across the bed and said ‘he’s not breathing’.’’
Rebecca O’Neale on her newborn son