The Smyth family, Southland
During the first six years of Chloe Smyth’s life she had undergone close to 80 operations — that’s an average of 13 a year. It began when doctors discovered a hole in little Chloe’s heart during an ultra sound at just 27 weeks. At 36 weeks Chloe was born at Auckland’s National Women’s Hospital and was placed immediately into Starship’s intensive care unit.
Chloe’s start to life involved immediate surgery where she had a shunt put in her heart. Two weeks later, once little Chloe was stable enough she had surgery for the hole in her heart. The weeks that followed Chloe remained on life support with machines helping her to breathe and recover. Unfortunately it was the breathing apparatus that also caused damage to her windpipe, affecting her breathing so severely that within days of going home, she was back in hospital for a tracheotomy.
Over the next few years there were more complications — poor eating meant Chloe needed a gastrostomy tube and unsuccessful attempts to get the tracheotomy out, as without it Chloe couldn’t breathe properly. It was also discovered that Chloe had suffered a stroke on her left side and some brain damage through lack of oxygen.
During this ordeal the Smyths have found a place to ‘chill out and get away from it all’ — staying at Ronald McDonald House Auckland.
Chloe’s father Chris Smyth, an Invercargill Irishman, talks about his time at the House: “I would be lost without Ronald McDonald House, it’s unbelievable, it’s like a 5-star hotel and add another two stars! The staff provide the help and support you need — they’re brilliant. Chloe just loves the house, she likes staying here and asks ‘when are we going to stay at the House?’ Words can’t describe what the house means to me. People need to realise that children who need this specialist treatment have to go to Auckland, there’s nowhere else in the country for it — we all need to support Ronald McDonald House.”
We look forward to seeing Chloe again soon when she returns for treatment at Starship.
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The RMH Auckland Trust funds and governs Ronald McDonald House Auckland (48 rooms) and the Ronald McDonald House Family Room (13 short stay critical care rooms) in Starship Hospital. It is a registered community charitable trust comprised of the following partners: Auckland District Health Board, Child Cancer Foundation, Heart Children, The Rotary Club of Downtown Auckland, Ronald McDonald House Charities and 2 community representatives. The House and Family Room provide a ‘home away from home’ for over 3,000 families of children with life-threatening illnesses each year. The Trust through its staff and partnerships actively fundraises throughout New Zealand to achieve the $2,300,000 p.a. it needs to run the facilities and support its families. Charity Registration number: CC23591