July 8, 2015
Meet Carlyn Urquhart and Her Family from Happy Valley-Goose Bay
Carlyn had her own plans
Mark and Allison Urquhart live in Happy Valley-Goose Bay. They were expecting the latest addition to their family to arrive on July 27, and their 3 year old daughter Kayla was very excited about being a “big sister”. However, the new addition to their family had other plans.
On the morning of May 7th, Allison was experiencing some pain, so both she and Mark went to the hospital in Goose Bay. The hospital performed some tests and advised them to go home and pack a bag, as Allison would be medevac’d as soon as possible to St. John’s for some monitoring. At that point, they were under the impression it was just for monitoring, so Mark immediately booked a commercial flight to be there when Allison arrived.
When Mark landed in St. John’s, he arranged a rental car and waited to hear from Allison. It was then the phone rang, “Mark, I am still in Goose Bay and I just had the baby. It’s a girl and she is so tiny. She is only 3 lbs 2 ½ oz! We will be both medevac’d to St. John’s today.” shouted Allison.
Mark felt both scared and helpless. His wife and newborn child were hours away from him. The baby was born premature and he feared for her health.
With their daughter born three months early, the Urquhart family were facing an unexpected long-term stay in St. John’s with no place to stay. It was then that the family heard the news they will never forget. The nurse at the hospital told them “We have a place for you stay…all of you… together as a family. I will contact Ronald McDonald House for you today.”
“When we arrived in St. John’s, we didn’t have much money for this sort of thing and with cost of flights, groceries, car rentals and unforeseen costs, the Ronald McDonald house was literally a life saver. The staff and volunteers are so friendly, cheerful and resourceful. They, along with the other families in the House, were always there to listen, help or to provide advice or comfort by sharing their similar experiences. This was so reassuring to us during a time of great difficulty when our hearts were filled with fear instead of hope.” said Mark.
