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Cresaptown’s Jody Loar(Continued from Page9) longer necessary for Jody to undergo painful hone marrow tests However, at this time there still is the need for matched hlood platelet tes and washed hlood” for Jody’s expensive treatmentWith two older sisters, Betty and Dawn, and his parents, Jim and Rosalie. Jody has the love and support to see him through this crisis, and. Mrs Uar notes, the nurses and doc tors at University Hospital give her son special attention and downright spoil himBut this is only part of the total picture The expense of such an illness as leukemia can become overwhelming Kven monthly trips to Baltimore, meals and a place to stay can mount up There is help from the Allegany County Unit of the American Cancer Society which assists hy providing transportation So imagine the thankfulness and appreciation of the l»ar Family when introduced to the brand new Ronald McDonald House of Baltimore, a home away from home for anyone with a child with a life threatening disease The cost for staying at this facility is $10 the first night, and $H each succeeding night per family If even this amount is excessive for a family's financial situation, there is no fee at all On top of this. Baltimore area organizations and businesses see that the Ronald McDonald House kitchens are stocked with staples and some groceriesWhen you go in. you feel like you’re home, an appreciative Mrs l,oar advises, and she should know for the lxars were the first family to stay in the Ronald McDonald House of Baltimore when it opened in June The home also includes free laundry facilities, dishwashers, trash compactors, cleaning supplies, smoke detectors, a fire alarm system, air conditioning, a television recreation room, library and free escort and van service to and from the hospital Kach family is responsible for the care and main tenance of the home as it is a volunteer operation with visiting families among the volunteersNot only is the Ronald McDonald House a haven for families with children with life threatening diseases, hut it also presents an opportunity for these stricken families to live together and visit with each other in a sharing situationIt is absolutely fantastic,” Mrs Loar says in praise of the establishmentHelp came from many sources when the dream of the Ronald Me Donald House of Baltimore turned into a reality McDonald’s restaurants in Baltimore provided close to $100,000. the Baltimore business community gave tremen dous financial aid Baltimore com munity groups were generous beyond belief, other contributions came from the American Cancer Society (in eluding our own local cancer unit), the American I/egion. the Maryland Horst* Breeders, and also from area high schools and caring individuals It would be impossible to list everyone who helped make the facility a reality, hut two men who became intimately involved were Baltimore Colt Joe Fhrmann and architect Gilbert W Thomas, each having losting a brother to cancer They saw- firsthand the need for anaffordahly priced facility for families of desperately ill youngstersDesigned to provide a home like atmosphere, living units were c reated for five to eight families with the house having four separate units which can house more than five dozen pcHipleToday the Ronald McDonald House is spreading the word of its existence to areas outside the Baltimore area, because* it is people in such places as Allegany County who primarily will use the facilityAnd so it was a family from Cresaptown, in western Maryland, participated in the ribbon cutting ceremony and became the very first to move into the Ronald McDonald House of BaltimoreMr and Mrs James Loar. Betty and dawn, and Jody, know Ronald McDonald is more than a clown, he represents the home away from home that is lending a hand to a spunky teenager and his family who are out to lick leukemia
Newspaper Details
Cumberland Evening Times
Cumberland, Maryland, US
Mon, Sep 20, 1982
Page 16
Full Page
Clipped by
Anonymous
IN, USA 30 Oct 2023
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