For many families, the "house that love built" becomes a home for healing as a critically ill child undergoes extended inpatient and outpatient treatments.

Mary Evernham and her son Raymond John were one of those families, returning to the Ronald McDonald House in New York City for weeks at a time for treatments at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center after Ray J. was diagnosed with leukemia several years ago.

"I could sleep at night knowing that I was safe and could return to see my son the next morning." Mary Evernham says. "Our family was able to stay there with me. It was just a few blocks away from the hospital that was taking care of my son."

As children undergo outpatient treatments, the Ronald McDonald House becomes almost an extension of the hospital, helping families cope with the medical and emotional strains of caring for a seriously ill child.

"The simplest thing like the temperature can be so crucial to a child on chemotherapy," Evernham says. "And at the Ronald McDonald House, in a moment's notice you can contact the hospital."

For the Evernhams, the Ronald McDonald House staff also provided some of the conveniences of home. "My son would eat Cheerios by the thousands," Mary says now, smiling, "and would then eat broccoli for breakfast."

At the time of Ray J.'s illness, the Evernhams were preparing to sell their home in New Jersey and move to Charlotte. Over the course of the next two years, they made ten trips to Memorial Sloan-Kettering for treatments, and were always met "with open arms" when they arrived in New York.

"At the Ronald McDonald house, my mother and mother-in-law were able to stay for weeks at a time while I stayed at the hospital. It definitely cut down on the expense of the seven-night hotel stay," says Evernham. "It was really a relaxed place to be. Other families staying could mingle with each other, and only if they wanted to."

Charlotte is now part of the international phenomenon as it embarks on a campaign to build the first Ronald McDonald House of Charlotte. Initial plans call for a home with 21 private suites and bedrooms, along with culturally sensitive family kitchens, great room, learning center, playground, and sitting porch located within walking distance of the uptown hospitals. The Ronald McDonald House of Charlotte is currently scheduled to open in 2008, following a capital campaign beginning in next year.

Mary Evernham's experience with the Ronald McDonald house inspired her to remain involved in the organization today. With Ray J. now 15 years old and a tenth grader in high school, they reminisce on the importance of a new facility here in Charlotte.

"Families come from all over the state to come to Carolinas Medical Center to have their children treated," Evernham said. "At the end of the day, the Ronald McDonald House helps families with devastating situations try to keep a family unit."