Bakersfield.com

larger view

It's a beautiful day for the Silvius family of Bakersfield working on the Ronald McDonald House float for the upcoming Rose Parade in Pasadena. Their son Eric has been invited to ride on the float in the upcoming Tournament of Roses Parade Tuesday.

Every day is a beautiful day for them because their 14-year-old son is alive and well.

Last year, Eric mysteriously lapsed into a coma and was rushed to Children's Hospital in Los Angeles. Eric was kept alive on a breathing machine as doctors worked feverishly to stabilize him. His parents, Brian and Diane, agonized as they sat helplessly in the intensive care room at the hospital.

A social worker met with the parents and offered them a room at the Ronald McDonald House across the street from the hospital. The family, who had been staying in a hotel, had no idea how long their gravely ill son would be in the hospital. They accepted the offer.

The cost? Seven dollars a day.

The Silvius family stayed at the Ronald McDonald House for three weeks. Three weeks that they could be near their son, three weeks of sharing their struggles with other parents at the house, three weeks of accommodations that eased their financial burden. They never figured out what struck their son. Doctors thought it was meningitis, but could never confirm that.

"Not only was the Ronald McDonald House a huge help financially, the strength we got from the other parents going through their own dilemmas helped us get through our own trying times," said Brian, Eric's father.

Eric, a freshman at Liberty High, has made a full recovery and is happy to be back in school.

"It's great to be back with my friends," Eric said grinning.

Through the generosity of Kern County McDonald's operators and Memorial Hospital, Bakersfield will be getting its own Ronald McDonald Family Room, to be built next to Memorial Hospital in 2008.

According to Golden Empire Co-op President Vic Cinquemani, "As local McDonald's operators, we are excited and proud to be able to help families of children who are patients at Memorial Hospital."

The facility will have three bedrooms, bathrooms, a kitchen and a sitting area with an entertainment center. There will be a nominal charge per day to stay. If the families can not afford that, the charges will be waived. Local furniture store Timeless Furnishings has agreed to furnish the building free of charge.

Construction for the project is expected to be completed by mid-2008.