RMH

Carol Syme has spent four years in and out of hospital with her daughter, Evynn. With a husband and three other children at home, that has meant a lot of separation for her family. For the past two months, the family has been living together at Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) Toronto, and they’ve quickly discovered the power of togetherness.

Evynn was born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome. In essence, she’s missing half of her heart. She had her first surgery at six days old, her second at 18 weeks old and her third at two-and-a-half years old. She’s been on and off the heart transplant list three times, but will now stay on the list until a new heart becomes available.

“I’ve spent months on end sleeping beside Evynn’s hospital bed,” says Carol.

Carol moved into the House in early 2015, and though she still spent the majority of her day at Evynn’s bedside, this small change made a big impact.

“Having a quiet bedroom to come home to at the end of a long day was incredible. Being away from hospital sounds makes a huge improvement on your sleep and your sanity.”

Better sleep is great, but having their family split in two continued to take a toll on the Symes. Evynn was deemed stable enough to be released from the hospital in early March and moved to RMHC Toronto. She still needs to be in close proximity to the hospital, so her dad and siblings relocated and the family was reunited at the House.

Since then, they’ve made themselves at home. Evynn’s older siblings, Aiden, 10, and Noa, 8, have been attending the RMHC Toronto School.

“They love the School and it’s made for such an easy transition,” says Carol. “Sometimes there’s a concern that less traditional schools may be more relaxed in their teaching, but I see my kids being challenged every day.”

Evynn and her younger sister, Taite, 2, often join their siblings for the many programs offered by the House. With the nice weather this spring, the Syme kids can often be found on the playground or going for family bike rides with their dad, Jeff. Jeff has become a staff favourite at the House, as he’s known to whip up delicious desserts in the kitchen.

Evynn remains on 24-hour IV medication, continues to visit the hospital and wait for news of an organ donor. The stress on her family is very real, but noticeably less now that they can be at “home” as a family.

“Living here truly does reduce our stress” says Carol. “It’s obvious how much effort is made to keep things stable, clean and comfortable for us, and we fully appreciate that we can be here together.”