As featured by CTV News Toronto with Pauline Chan. Find the link here.
When CTV News Toronto’s health reporter Pauline Chan visited the new Ronald McDonald House Toronto Family Room at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids), she captured what families have long known: healing doesn’t happen in isolation. It happens when care extends to the whole family.
In this news feature, Ronald McDonald House Toronto CEO Louise Smith shared what makes these Family Rooms so vital:
“We know that when a child is seriously ill, their family’s well-being is part of their care. Our Ronald McDonald House Family Rooms are designed to meet that need — they bring comfort, dignity, and moments of normalcy to parents who are living through the most difficult days of their lives.”
What is a Ronald McDonald House Family Room? Find out here.
Located in the new Patient Support Centre, this Family Room is the second Ronald McDonald House Toronto Family Room at SickKids, offering families a place to rest, shower, share a meal, and simply breathe — all just steps away from their child’s bedside.
It’s a simple idea with profound impact — something Jenna Devlin came to understand during the 42 days she and her five-year-old son, Hendrix, lived inside the hospital while he received a life-saving bone marrow transplant.
“It can be overwhelming at times,” Jenna told Pauline in the interview. “You’re trying to occupy your child. You’re trying to stay sane yourself. It was very hard for me to actually physically leave the hospital because things are happening hourly.”
Even in the hardest fight of her life, it was the small things she found in the Ronald McDonald House Family Room — a hot shower, a quiet coffee, a friendly face — that helped her keep going and stay strong for her son.
The Family Story: Jenna and Hendrix
When Jenna Devlin walked into the bone marrow transplant unit at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) with her five-year-old son, Hendrix, she already knew her life was about to shrink to the size of a ten-by-twelve box.
She also knew she wasn’t leaving — not for a night, not for a meal, not even for a breath of fresh air — unless Hendrix was stable enough.
For 42 days, Jenna lived at Hendrix’s side. Twenty-one of those days were spent in isolation after his transplant — his donor was Jenna herself.
Their small hospital room had no bathroom, no shower, no privacy. Just a bed, a chair, and a little sink. The rest of life — washing clothes, finding food, taking a shower — became a battle of logistics.
Hendrix spent 42 days at The Hospital for Sick Children while he received a life-saving bone marrow transplant.
“You don’t realize how quickly it becomes claustrophobic,” Jenna explains. “Everything in a transplant has to be sanitized. If something touches the floor, you have to wash it right away. You do laundry every single day. And in the hospital, with only two machines for hundreds of families, it’s like winning the lottery to get a washer.”
That’s where the Ronald McDonald House Toronto Family Room at SickKids made all the difference.
A Lifeline Just Steps Away
Every morning and night, Jenna escaped briefly to the Family Room.
“That was my time,” she says. “I’d run down, shower off the hospital germs, grab a coffee, maybe throw in laundry. It sounds small, but it was everything. It made me feel human again so I could show up better for Hendrix.”
The Ronald McDonald House Family Room is just steps away from the unit — a warm, welcoming space staffed by volunteers who offer toiletries, healthy snacks, hot meals, and a quiet place to breathe.
For Jenna, it meant she didn’t have to choose between caring for herself and staying close to her son.
“If I didn’t have that space, I honestly don’t know how I would’ve managed,” she says. “You can’t just leave your kid’s bedside for hours to go home and do laundry. That’s not an option when they’re that sick.”
While caring for her son Hendrix during his hospital stay, Jenna Devlin found comfort in the Ronald McDonald House Toronto Family Room at SickKids in the Atrium. Today, she visits the new Family Room in the Patient Support Centre — a welcoming space offering the same support to more families in need.
Finding Normal in the Impossible
Hospital days blur together — machines beep, doors slam, and the line between night and day disappears. Hendrix often mixed them up, and Jenna lived on caffeine and adrenaline.
The Family Room gave her something she desperately needed: a sense of normal.
“Doing laundry, showering, having a snack — those things sound so basic, but they help you cope,” Jenna says. “They let you keep going. Without that, I’d feel trapped and isolated. With it, I could breathe.”
It also gave her community. Jenna met other parents in the Family Room who were living through similar experiences.
“That’s how we connected,” she says. “We realized we were living this at the same time. Those small human moments mean everything.”
Why Ronald McDonald House Family Rooms Matter
Some families live out of suitcases in the hospital, grabbing rest wherever they can. For them, the Family Room becomes their only sanctuary.
“I know moms who slept for days on the recliners in the Ronald McDonald House Family Room because there was nowhere else,” Jenna says. “It’s more than a room. It’s survival.”
And donors make it possible.
“Without donors, these spaces wouldn’t exist,” Jenna says simply. “And they change everything. They give us back a piece of ourselves so we can keep taking care of our kids.”
Her time in the Atrium Family Room opened her eyes to just how vital these spaces are — and why expanding them matters so deeply. As SickKids continues to grow, so does the need for families to have more places of rest and connection within the hospital walls.
That’s why Jenna is especially excited about the opening of the new Ronald McDonald House Family Room in the Patient Support Centre. “When I saw the photos, I got emotional,” she admits. “It’s so bright and modern — and to think families will have access to even more of the amenities we had, in such a beautiful space, it just makes me so happy. I know how much that will mean when you’re living in the hospital, day after day.”
For Jenna, it feels like coming full circle — from those quiet mornings in the Atrium Family Room, coffee in hand and heart still racing, to now seeing sunlight pour into the new Family Room’s windows, ready to welcome the next family who needs a place to breathe. It’s a reminder that care keeps expanding, one open door at a time.
A Message for Families Just Beginning the Journey
When asked what she would say to another parent about to enter hospital life, Jenna doesn’t hesitate: “You’re not alone. There’s a whole community out there. Please use the Ronald McDonald House Family Room. Talk to the staff. Take the snacks. Take the shower. Do the laundry. It will help you survive the hardest days.”
Because when a child is in the hospital, family doesn’t visit. Family stays.
And thanks to Ronald McDonald House Family Rooms, families like Jenna and Hendrix can keep staying, keep caring, and keep holding on — together.
Seven Family Rooms. Five hospitals. Countless moments of relief.
Each Ronald McDonald House Toronto Family Room is built on the same simple belief: when families are cared for, children heal better. But these spaces exist only because of the generosity of donors and volunteers.
Your support keeps the doors open and the lights on for families who can’t leave their child’s side. Give today — and help make sure every family has a place to rest, recover, and stay close.