And with your help, so do we.
When an ill or injured child needs specialist medical care in Perth, family is not a visitor.
Family stays.
With your help, no WA family should have to choose between being there for their child and having a place to stay.
One morning Riley woke up unable to lift her left arm.
Stephanie and Henry Shawcross loaded their young family into the car, left their home in Margaret River, and drove straight to Perth.
They knew their five-year-old daughter had suffered a stroke.
What they didn’t know was where they would stay or how long they would be away.
They often arrive suddenly, just as Stephanie and Henry did, with no idea what lies ahead.
Ronald McDonald House at QEII: Our 47 bedroom home is only 350 metres from Perth Children’s Hospital.
Ronald McDonald House on Park: Our 50 bedroom home offers supported accommodation to families in a beautiful setting only a short walk to Perth Children’s Hospital.
Parent Accommodation in Perth Children’s Hospital: Located within the hospital, our 14 bedroom in-hospital accommodation allows close access for parents and guardians with the most critically ill children.
In a state as vast as Western Australia, when a child like Riley needs specialist medical treatment, all roads lead to Perth. For the Shawcrosses, that means leaving their life in Margaret River, more than 3 hours away.
Every time Riley needs care, Stephanie, Henry and Riley’s brothers, Kane and baby Parker, make that long drive away from the comforting routines of home.
Without Ronald McDonald House WA, the cost of a hotel room alone would have been impossible to sustain. A room to fit the family would be well over $300 per night and they often have no idea how long they will need to stay.
As Stephanie says simply: “we wouldn’t have been able to afford it.”
“She’s the most determined little firecracker you’ve ever met in your life.” says Stephanie of her daughter.
Riley was born with Multisystemic Smooth Muscle Dysfunction Syndrome; an ultra-rare condition which affects her whole body. She is one of fewer than 60 confirmed worldwide and had open heart surgery at only ten-weeks-old.
Since the stroke that first brought the family to Ronald McDonald House WA back in 2024, Riley has had brain surgery and suffered her biggest stroke to date.
There is no cure for her condition. As Stephanie says: “We will have many more hospital stays ahead of us.“
Because of people like you, Ronald McDonald House WA is here for families when they need us most, for however long, and as often as they need us.
Some stay a few nights. Others, like the Shawcrosses, return again and again, knowing that no matter what lies ahead, they will not face it alone.
