When the winter storm swept across Texas last month, the Ronald McDonald House of Dallas escaped power outages, but not burst pipes.
"Things could have been better," Ronald McDonald House of Dallas CEO Jill Cumnock said. "A lot of water that comes out of there!"
The Ronald McDonald House provides free housing for families with sick or injured children who are undergoing medical treatment. When the pipes burst, they sprang into action.
"I said, oh my goodness! What is happening? What are we going to do," Karla Mena said.
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Mena and her daughter, Larissa Dip, have been coming to the Ronald McDonald House from Honduras for the last four-years to treat Larissa's hip dysplasia.
When the pipes burst, she and other parents weren't thinking about their own troubles. They picked up brooms to start sweeping flood water out of the building.
"So you've already got a sick child, you're dealing with COVID, and now this happens," Cumnock said. "I think the most impactful thing for me was watching how these families reacted to it."
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"Watching them help all of us, helped us keep it all in perspective," Cumnock explained.
"Yes, because it's our home," Mena said. "It's like home far from home."
The Ronald McDonald House just finished renovating the space last year, and now will need to repair and replace items. If you'd like to help, click on their Amazon Wish list and their website.
