Twin kids Gemma and Harrison were apart for a year when Gemma got ill – but a new home away from home will help keep families together.
Gemma Adams’ family was devastated when they first learned she had the rare childhood cancer Wilms’ Tumor – none more so than her twin brother Harrison. The close-knit pair, then aged five, were separated for 12 months while Gemma underwent life-saving treatment at the Women’s and Children’s Hospital, Adelaide.
Gemma’s mum Belinda stayed by her side, living at the nearby Ronald McDonald House. But Harrison and dad Trent were limited to fortnightly visits due to expensive airfares and lengthy car trips to the hospital from their Port Lincoln home.
“That just wasn’t enough for Harrison – I really felt for him, but it hurt me more to have him in Adelaide and not be able to provide him with a private family environment,” says Belinda. “Harrison and Gemma had never spent a night apart and to then spend 12 months away from his sister – it broke his heart.”
Plans for a multimillion-dollar extension of Ronald McDonald House Adelaide in South Australia will provide regional families like the Adams’ with a stable home away from home. The $4 million project will boast eight two-bedroom apartments and two cottages providing private apartment accommodation for families with children undergoing long- term treatment.
“Harrison had a lot of anger initially because he couldn’t understand why we couldn’t be at home together as a family, and I think if we had our own cottage or unit it would have been more of a family environment, rather than a communal one,” says Belinda.
Ronald McDonald House Adelaide Executive Officer Jane Scotcher says the House is one of Australia’s busiest, and the new accommodation will reduce the waiting list of families needing a place to stay.
“The current House is limited to accommodating only 10 families at any one time and regularly sleeps 30 to 40 people per night, and there is always a waiting list,” she says. “The new development will provide more appropriate accommodation for ‘long stay’ families – those needing to reside in Adelaide for more than three months.”
Gemma Adams’ family was devastated when they first learned she had the rare childhood cancer Wilms’ Tumor – none more so than her twin brother Harrison. The close-knit pair, then aged five, were separated for 12 months while Gemma underwent life-saving treatment at the Women’s and Children’s Hospital, Adelaide.
Gemma’s mum Belinda stayed by her side, living at the nearby Ronald McDonald House. But Harrison and dad Trent were limited to fortnightly visits due to expensive airfares and lengthy car trips to the hospital from their Port Lincoln home.
“That just wasn’t enough for Harrison – I really felt for him, but it hurt me more to have him in Adelaide and not be able to provide him with a private family environment,” says Belinda. “Harrison and Gemma had never spent a night apart and to then spend 12 months away from his sister – it broke his heart.”
Plans for a multimillion-dollar extension of Ronald McDonald House Adelaide in South Australia will provide regional families like the Adams’ with a stable home away from home. The $4 million project will boast eight two-bedroom apartments and two cottages providing private apartment accommodation for families with children undergoing long- term treatment.
“Harrison had a lot of anger initially because he couldn’t understand why we couldn’t be at home together as a family, and I think if we had our own cottage or unit it would have been more of a family environment, rather than a communal one,” says Belinda.
Ronald McDonald House Adelaide Executive Officer Jane Scotcher says the House is one of Australia’s busiest, and the new accommodation will reduce the waiting list of families needing a place to stay.
“The current House is limited to accommodating only 10 families at any one time and regularly sleeps 30 to 40 people per night, and there is always a waiting list,” she says. “The new development will provide more appropriate accommodation for ‘long stay’ families – those needing to reside in Adelaide for more than three months.”
