“My name is Sarah and I’m from Pampa, Texas,” she begins. Pampa is five and a half hours from Dallas, far enough that when her daughter Eva became sick as an infant, the distance felt overwhelming. Eva was only one month old when her parents began the search for answers that would change their lives.
Doctors ran test after test, and the family endured long days in the hospital before learning the diagnosis. Eva had Alpha-1 Antitrypsin disorder, a rare genetic condition inherited from both parents. “We had no idea it was even a thing until after she got sick,” Sarah recalls. From the very beginning, Eva’s liver was fragile, and as time passed it became clear that a transplant would be necessary.
By April of the following year, the Mathenia family was told to prepare. They traveled to Dallas for a week of evaluations and meetings with specialists at Children’s Health. What weighed heavily on Sarah’s heart was not just the medical unknowns but the practical reality of being so far from home. They had no idea where they would stay. Then someone mentioned the Ronald McDonald House of Dallas. “We had always known that was a thing, but we didn’t even know it was available to us,” she says.
The Mathenias arrived and were welcomed into a place they hadn’t expected to feel like home. They stayed five days that spring, long enough to feel the impact of hospitality offered freely. “Everyone was so wonderful and welcoming,” Sarah remembers. It was just after Easter, and Eva received a basket of treats. She even met Shiloh, the beloved therapy dog who brings joy to countless children staying at the House. “We just had the best time here and thought it was so neat that this was even available to us.”
Months later came the phone call that would change everything. On November 1, the family was told that a liver was available for Eva. They packed quickly and drove the five and a half hours back to Dallas. On November 2, surgeons performed the transplant that gave Eva a new chance at life. Two days later, Sarah left the hospital briefly with her youngest, baby Amos, and returned to the Ronald McDonald House, where she found peace and stability while Eva remained in recovery.
When Eva was finally discharged from the hospital, the House offered even more support. An apartment was available in the transplant wing, a safe place designed for children like Eva to heal. “We were so excited that she was able to come here and be able to recover,” Sarah says. “It’s just been such a blessing to our family.”
The gift of togetherness has been the greatest comfort. “Just the fact that we were able to be together and heal together, especially living five and a half hours away, means so much. I can’t imagine half of my family being back home and me and my daughter Eva being here. It would have been really difficult. The Ronald McDonald House is so welcoming to families and keeps them together, and I think that is part of the healing process.”
For other parents who may find themselves facing long hospital stays far from home, Sarah’s advice is simple and direct. “Reach out to your hospital or your doctor. They have social workers who can connect you with the Ronald McDonald House. Since we found our social worker, she specifically reaches out to us and makes sure we know about anything we need. It has been wonderful.”
The Mathenias’ story is one of courage, of uncertainty transformed into hope, of a family that found healing together. The Ronald McDonald House of Dallas gave them more than shelter. It gave them a space to breathe, to support one another, and to watch Eva grow stronger.
It is a reminder that families are the true heroes of every health journey, and when they are supported, hope multiplies.
Because when families are at the heart of care, healing becomes possible.
