As told by Peter Keil
When your child becomes seriously ill, life changes in an instant. For us, everything shifted in February 2023. Our son Jude had suddenly become unwell, so we took him to Medway Hospital. A doctor noticed something unusual about the way his mouth was moving. We will always be grateful for how quickly he picked it up. Within hours Jude had lost consciousness and went into respiratory arrest. On 10 February he was blue lighted to the Evelina London Children’s Hospital.
We had heard of Evelina, but only in passing. It is not a club any parent hopes to join. One moment Jude was talking to his mum, Emma on the phone, the next we were watching him fight for his life. He was diagnosed with an unsafe swallow and eventually with a rare and complex nerve condition. Our world narrowed to one priority. Being close to our son.
Finding safety when everything felt uncertain
When we walked through the door the staff already knew who we were. They had been briefed and understood what we needed before we even had the words for it ourselves. Carly, Esther, Anna, Kelly and Richard welcomed us with a level of empathy that felt so natural. They explained everything calmly. They had thought of the practical things, but also the emotional ones. From that moment we felt held.
For the first two nights we did not leave Jude’s bedside. We were exhausted, frightened and completely overwhelmed. On the third night the hospital team told us that Ronald McDonald House Evelina had a room ready for us.
It is hard to explain what the House feels like without having lived it. Imagine a really good hotel, but with heart, care and understanding woven through every corner. A place that gives you privacy, dignity and routine in the most chaotic moment of your life. After that first week, we felt completely part of the Evelina House family.
Keeping our family close when it mattered most
We eventually stayed for 311 nights. Leaving was far harder than we ever expected. It felt like saying goodbye to a second family.
The House gave us so much more than a room. It gave us time with Jude. Because we were only minutes away, we never had to choose between rest and being at his bedside. On the rare occasions he woke distressed at two or three in the morning and pressed his communication button, one of us could be with him almost straight away. He always knew we were close.
We have a daughter called Elodie who was two at the time. Naturally, a lot of focus was on Jude, but the team made sure she felt special too. They included her in everything and remembered the things that mattered to her. They even surprised us with flowers and a voucher on our wedding anniversary. Small gestures, but they helped life feel normal again in a very abnormal world.
At the House you meet other parents who know what it feels like to have everything turned upside down. You share meals, worries and moments of hope. When a family lost their one-year-old, we helped them through the first days of grief. Later, other families supported us through our hardest moments. It is a community unlike any other.
Life now
Jude is thirteen now and lives with a complex nerve condition. He is permanently ventilated and has a tracheostomy. We still come back to Evelina for sleep studies and appointments. Every time we step into the House it feels like returning home. When Jude was finally well enough to visit, the whole team came to see him. They told him they had heard all about him. They made him feel like the most important boy in the world.
We live in Kent, which is around an hour and a half from the hospital. Travelling back and forth during that crisis would have been impossible. The House removed that pressure. It let us be a family and stay together through the most frightening year of our lives.
Why support matters
The medical teams gave Jude world class care. Ronald McDonald House UK gave us the final piece of the puzzle. A place where we could rest, think, cry, laugh and simply be parents. They protected our wellbeing, so we had the strength to be fully present for Jude and Elodie.
Families staying in Ronald McDonald Houses often arrive with no time to prepare. They are uprooted from home, work and everything that feels normal. Ronald McDonald House UK doesn’t just provide accommodation. It gives families stability, dignity, community and the chance for parents to stay close to their child. That closeness truly matters.