"We think about it constantly," Eddie Portis says now, thinking back on that day in January 2004 when he and his wife received an emergency phone call about their son Christopher's skiing accident at Wolfe Laurel in the North Carolina mountains. He was flown via life flight to the Johnson City Medical Center, in Johnson City, Tennessee.

"My wife was at home and got the call. We jumped in the car and immediately drove to the hospital. No packing, no supplies, no hotel reservations."

For the next five nights, as Christopher lay in a coma from his injuries in the hospital, the Portis family found refuge at a Ronald McDonald House nearby. Here, they found a "home away from home" providing them with a room, meals, and basic necessities like toothpaste, shampoo, and more. The RMH was located on the hospital's property which allowed us to walk to and from the hospital. "They had a room for us, a bed, a shower and a place to stage. It was so convenient for us."

Along with the basic necessities, the Portis' also found something unexpected — emotional support from other families staying at the Ronald McDonald House while their own children received medical care at the nearby Johnson City Medical City.

"We all had dinner together every night. This was very beneficial to us. If it wasn't for this we never would have left the hospital," Eddie Portis said. "There were other people there to relate to who were also going through something similar."

Two years later, Eddie Portis has found a way to give something back to the people who helped his family maintain a sense of normalcy during their son's hospitalization Portis and his firm Little Diversified Architectural Consulting, have joined a community campaign to bring a Ronald McDonald House facility to Charlotte.

Little recently completed the initial design work on the house, and will be donating Architectural and Engineering services to make the dream of a Ronald McDonald House of Charlotte a reality.

Initial designs for the Ronald McDonald House of Charlotte include 21 private suites and bedrooms along with culturally sensitive family kitchens, a great room, learning center, playground, and sitting porch. The Ronald McDonald House of Charlotte is currently scheduled to open in 2008, following a capital campaign beginning in 2007.

"With the great hospitals that we have here, we were a little surprised when we returned home and found out that Charlotte did not have a Ronald McDonald House," Portis said. "They call them 'the house that love built,' and as a family and a firm we are thrilled to be part of bringing a Ronald McDonald House home to Charlotte."