Family House Opens Just in Time for California Mother and Daughters
On March 31st, Family House opened to its first guests, a mother and daughter who had waited patiently in the SECU Family House parking lot since 6:00 a.m. Alinda, the mom, and Stacy, her older daughter, had been on a long journey since February—from Hanford, California—when Alinda’s younger daughter, Tracy, was critically burned in a mobile home fire in Georgia.
Tracy suffered second degree burns on 45% of her body. She had been transferred to the NC Jaycee Center Burn Unit at UNC Hospitals on February 9, 2008, from the Augusta Medical Center, since Augusta didn’t have the room or the proper facilities to serve her. Alinda and Stacy had slept in the ICU waiting room for eight days, and then at the local Holiday Inn. With funds quickly dwindling, they finally ended up at our doorstep where they were greeted with open arms and hearts by our staff and volunteers, just in time to collapse on the beds on Room 104.
With lots of support and a great team of doctors at the Burn Center, Tracy’s condition is improving, but she has a long way to go. Alinda has spent hours crying and worrying over Tracy, fearing the worst. Alinda tells us that Family House is like a “home away from home” and “the next best thing to home” for her and Stacy. She stresses that it has been helpful to share her story with other guests, to walk the trails behind the House, and to be close to her daughter, who still cannot talk and is largely immobilized by medication that makes her healing possible. Tracy faces surgery, rehabilitation, and recuperation over the next few months.
Heidi Gessner, Inpatient Burn Chaplain at UNC Hospitals, has spent a lot of time with this particular family and is thrilled that Family House is here now to serve their needs. “Otherwise, this family would have had to go home some time ago. There aren’t many options for families in this kind of situation. Family House is a real asset for UNC Hospitals.” Dr. Bruce Cairns, Medical Director of the NC Jaycee Burn Center, couldn’t agree more. “We are just thrilled that Family House is available to our families as a resource and feel tremendous gratitude.”
Tracy faces a long, uphill battle, but at least Alinda and Stacy, her “rock,” have found some real comfort and kindness along the way.