RMHC

September/October 2018 • Puerto Rico

In late 2018, I was assigned to document the daily life of the clients, staff, and patients of the Ronald McDonald House in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) is an independent nonprofit organization with a mission to support the families of children who are confined to a hospital for long-term stays.

The foundation’s mission is to provide a “home-away-from home” for families who live outside the metropolitan area whose children receive complicated treatment in hospitals in San Juan. Families sometimes stay for weeks or even months. The family rooms provide space for recreation and the staff arrange for activities to help provide a welcomed distraction when the parents cannot be with their children as they receive treatment in the hospital.

The following families and staff graciously allowed me to document their entire lives in the House as well as on their visits to their children. We traveled together on location at the House apartments to hospitals around the city in Aibonito and Ponce.

I am forever thankful to the staff at the RMHC who were so welcoming to having a photographer around to witness their selfless dedication to these families and children. Likewise, I especially am grateful to the families who shared their experiences with me and allowed me to capture one of the most difficult moments a parent will face. They handled their family’s difficult circumstances with grace and strength and I hope you will consider supporting the RMHC as they continue to support families such as these. Learn more.

(This project was part of Momenta’s Puerto Rico workshop, for which I won a scholarship.)

Mother and daughter, who is an outpatient, share a moment during breakfast in the Ronald McDonald House in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Each resident family has a basket to store their personal food in the communal refrigerator in the Ronald McDonald House in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
A resident poses for a portrait in her room in the Ronald McDonald House as she waits for visiting hours to begin at the hospital. Her daughter is receiving treatment after she was born in the 24th week of pregnancy.
An unused car seat sits in a resident family’s bedroom, waiting to be used for the first time. The family’s infant has not left the hospital since it was born weeks earlier.
Residents of the Ronald McDonald House wait for the morning pick-up van which will take them to the hospital to see their children for visiting hours.
Families gather in the waiting room before the visiting hours when they can see their children at Menonita General Hospital in Aibonito, Puerto Rico.
A young woman rests in the waiting room of Menonita General Hospital in Aibonito, Puerto Rico, waiting to be called for treatment.
A little patient gets her registration bracelet at Menonita General Hospital in Aibonito, Puerto Rico.
A young boy, who is treated for a respiratory disease, watches a cartoon on his mom’s smart phone during treatment at Menonita General Hospital in Aibonito, Puerto Rico.
A mother comforts her sleeping child during treatment at Menonita General Hospital in Aibonito, Puerto Rico.
A mother tries to soothe her crying child during treatment at Menonita General Hospital in Aibonito, Puerto Rico.
Members of the RMHC staff bring new toys for the children who are being treated in San Lucas Hospital in Ponce, Puerto Rico.
Balloons hover above the bed in a hospital room. The infant had to spend her birthday in San Lucas Hospital in Ponce, Puerto Rico.
A mother brushes her daughters hair in a hospital room at San Lucas Hospital in Ponce, Puerto Rico. She wanted her to look the best for the photographer.
A mother is holding her early born baby in the pediatric emergency unit at San Lucas Hospital in Ponce, Puerto Rico.
Residents arrive back at the Ronald McDonald House after visiting their children. Parents are only allowed to see their children for 6 hours each day.
Volunteers prepare halloween themed figures during arts and crafts night at the Ronald McDonald House.
Residents take part in arts and crafts night. Regular activities are part of the schedule at Ronald McDonald House in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
A resident of the Ronald McDonald House shares an image of his daughter with other residents. She is receiving treatment in a hospital in San Juan, Puerto Rico, while her father stays at the house.