The Squeeze - Ronald McDonald House: Family Stays

Episode Date: June 3, 2026

In this week’s episode, The Squeeze is partnering with Ronald McDonald House for a very inspiring episode. The Lautners sit down with Katie Fitzgerald, President and CEO of Ronald McDonald House Global, along with Jules and Jevon McBride, to talk about the life-changing impact of Ronald McDonald House and the power of families staying together during a medical crisis. Katie shares the heart behind the organization, why the mission is needed now more than ever, and the decision to spotlight real families by introducing the McBrides as the first-ever global spokesfamily as part of the Family Stays campaign. She talks about the wide range of support Ronald McDonald House provides for families, from accommodations and meals to emotional and mental health support, and why holistic care is such an important part of the organization’s mission.The McBride family then shares their deeply personal story, opening up about the devastating car accident that changed their lives and how Ronald McDonald House became a lifeline during their recovery. They reflect on what it meant to stay together as a family during such a difficult time, the community and connections they found through other families, volunteers, and staff members, and the continued support from Ronald McDonald House, even after returning home. The family also shares what it means to become the first-ever global spokesfamily for Ronald McDonald House, the lessons they’ve learned about resilience and community, and the message they hope to pass along to other families navigating a child’s illness or injury. Katie also shares the organization’s vision for the future, including the growing need for its services, the goal to double the number of families served by 2030, and the different ways people can support the mission.You can support families like the McBrides by volunteering at your local Ronald McDonald House or by donating today at ronaldmcdonaldhouse.org/donate/mcbridefamily.Be sure to follow Ronald McDonald House https://instagram.com/ronaldmcdonaldhouse/!To email us your questions or share your story, you can reach out to [e-mail] sure to rate, review, and follow the podcast so you don't miss an episode! Plus, follow us on all of our socials:The SqueezeInstagram: https://instagram.com/thesqueeze/TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@thesqueezepodcastTay LautnerInstagram: https://instagram.com/taylautner/TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@mrstaylautnerAmazon Storefront https://urlgeni.us/amazon/FDXj7 Taylor LautnerInstagram: https://instagram.com/taylorlautner/TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@taylorlautnerTo learn more from The Lemons Foundation, follow https://instagram.com/lemonsbytay/ and visit https://lemonsbytay.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The following podcast is a dear media production. It was just a calm, beautiful day before the accident. I heard Javon say there's lights coming at us. What is this guy doing? The last thing that I remember was the glass shattering and waking up to the smell of the airbags and there being dust and stuff everywhere. My leg was the first thing I noticed that, huh, I can't feel that. Like my entire leg, I was going, I can't feel anything.

The engine actually came into the car and was sitting in my lap. They needed two separate ambulances for us. It broke my heart, how he kept asking like every few seconds, where's my wife, is my baby okay? And then a few moments later, it was the same thing. Whereas my wife is my baby okay. I was 25 weeks. They could not find a heartbeat for Juliana.

And then finally, the last person came into the room and she said, it's there, it's there. We're going to have to get your child out. You're bleeding internally. And I may have to take your uterus as well. Juliana weighed one pound and 10 ounces. I was just amazed at this little human, you know, she was so tiny, but she was doing her best to survive. We had a social worker come in and tell my mom, we have a place for you guys and they will take you guys as long as your daughter needs to be in the hospital.

and it was Ronald McDonald's house. Everybody was so welcoming and you just got this sense that things were going to be okay. Katie, Jules, Javon, welcome to the squeeze. Hi, thanks for having us. Thank you. We are so excited. Episodes like these mean a lot to both of us

because obviously, you know, we mainly have a lot of celebrities and public figures on, but having real people, stories on are the episodes that are the most special to us because those are the stories that we feel really need to be heard. And we're really excited to be partnering with the Ronald McDonald's House for this episode. And honestly, to learn more about it and the services that are offered and to hear more about your guys' story. But before we get into that, Katie, I'd love to kind of dive into first for our listeners who may not be familiar with the Ronald McDonald House. Can you share a little bit

more about how the organization serves. Yeah. So, you know, first of all, thanks for having us. We're so excited to be here. And we think it's, you know, we're so excited because it's so important about what you guys do on your podcast. And it's really a great fit with the heart of our mission. So obviously, I think a lot of people have heard of Ronald McDonald's. But what most people don't know is it started in the early 1970s.

And the story's fantastic. a pediatric oncologist who was at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Her name was Dr. Audrey Evans. And she was caring for hospitalized children with cancer. And she witnessed parents who were sleeping in the waiting room, eating out of the vending machine. And in fact, some parents who were what we call abandoning treatment, it happens a lot in other parts of the world where we work. It doesn't happen as much in the United States now. But what that means is that if you've got a child who needs to be treated and

Philadelphia, but you live in California and you can't leave your job, you may have to make like the unimaginable decision to abandon that treatment. So she saw all this happening and she was like, I know what we need. We need a house where the families can stay at no cost. And it's totally random that, you know, McDonald's helped raise money for it. The Philadelphia Eagles were involved. And all of a sudden they said, well, we'll help you raise money. But what? can you call it a Ronald McDonald's house? And of course, they're like, we'll call it. Whatever you want us to call it. Yeah. So that is how the first one started. And the essence of why I'm so happy that Jules and Javon are here and the McBrides to tell their story and why we're doing

this is that it really came from a place of what she called total care. So yes, families need housing, but they really need psychosocial support, emotional support. We know from our data over 50 to 60 percent, of our parents are suffering from a pretty significant depression and anxiety, understandably so, staying at houses, siblings are impacted. So Ronald McDonald House provides this whole array of services that really literally wrap around the family, support their emotional health, their mental health, food, transportation, at no cost. So we're really proud of that, really grateful that you've had us here. That's incredible. Yeah. What originally drew you personally to get involved with the Ronald McDonald's House. And I want to know why, why does the mission feel

like more urgent than ever right now? Yeah. So I'm a social worker. I've been for over 30 years. So I've always spent, my whole career has been in the nonprofit sector. So I've really had the privilege of working with a lot of families who are struggling with a range of issues, economic security, food insecurity, family support. So it's been a part of my career working with families who are really struggling with how to make sure the family stays strong to support children's development. And so when I had the opportunity to come here, it was just a perfect coming together of being able to be in support of families like Jules and Javon. These are families who, you know, are having the worst circumstance happen to them.

getting the news that your child is diagnosed with a life-threatening illness or maybe has suffered a severe accident or you're going into labor and Jules can tell her story is terrifying for a family. So that ability to come and help families in their most vulnerable state and then to be able to do it around the world. We're in 60 countries around the world helping families in every health care system you can imagine in every economic circumstance you can imagine is just hugely fulfilling. Yeah. I imagine. That's so special. We're a mental health podcast and you mentioned that, you know,

it's not only like the physical stuff. Like there's other aspects that, you know, I mean, the toll this takes on the families is, I can only imagine. What are some of those types of services that you provide that helps them through that? Yeah. So, So in general, in every house and in all the areas we work, the houses and the staff who work for Ronald McDonald's house are making sure that families are connecting to each other, first of all. So there's a whole ethos of community that is part and post of our mission and our model. And I know, Jules, you can talk a little bit about that. People who develop lifelong relationships because they've walked a journey together and have bonded over that. And that takes a lot of forms of literally bringing people together and movie nights and, you know, art and, you know, music therapy and all those sorts of things.

But then there's actual social services as well as, you know, referrals for mental health treatment. And two quick stories I'll tell you that I think sort of bring it to life. I was in Sydney a couple years ago and a mom was there with her two young daughters, her baby, who was hospitalized. they were about four or five hours from where they lived, pretty far away from Sydney in Australia. Her doctors told her they had to move to Sydney because he was going to need... Actually, he was a cardiac patient.

Successive surgeries for a period of time. And she had, you know, could not afford to live in Sydney. Her little girls were going to the school that is offered in the house. And the house basically helped them transfer and relocate to Sydney after the state sort of government there said she would have to, like, go live in a homeless shelter for a period of time in order to get public assistance. So there's those sorts of social services. The one quick little story I tell you that I love from a mental health perspective is in

Italy, they have a great, our Ronald McDonald House, Italy has a great partnership with the Italian Navy. And what a lot of people may not know is if you go through a circumstance like this, siblings are often really impacted, right? Because the one child, has gotten all the attention for years. And it's scary to watch your brother or sister, you know, suffer like they've suffered. And so it really impacts the dynamic of the family and what the child is going through, what the siblings are going through. So they have this partnership where they take the sibling out on a Navy vessel. This is after the kiddo is better and, you know, fortunately for kids who survive. And they go for a week sailing, just the sibling and,

the child patient, parents are not allowed to come because part of it is also as a parent, you've just become so protective of your child, right? Yeah. So terrified about what's happening. And so it's also a part of the process for the parent to kind of let go. And for those two siblings to do something together that kind of can help repair the relationship that does happen in the dynamic between the siblings. So there's just all of these examples of creative ways that Ronald McDonald houses have found to repair, restore, and bring a lot of support to families. That's awesome. That's really cool. Yeah. Dang.

How many houses are there? Yeah. So there are about 400 standalone houses in the 60 countries that we work in. About half of them are in the United States. And then we have another just over 300, what we call family rooms. But those are, it's sort of not a great name for him because in many, And they're inside hospitals. So in some circumstances, they are literally in hospital houses. Families sleep there. You walk into the floor because it'll be in a hospital.

It doesn't look like a hospital. It doesn't feel like a hospital. And they get all the support there. And in some circumstances, it's more of a congregate space of restoration and support for the families. I'm curious, this campaign, you're centering more on families rather. than celebrities being the voices of the house, which I've actually been involved with Ronald McDonald's house a couple times. And it always was like celebrities, you know, be in the face of it.

And now, you know, you're making the actual families. Like what led to that decision? Because, I mean, obviously, I personally love it. Yeah. So pretty easy decision for us because we were really reflecting on who tells our story the best. And part of our goal. is for more people to understand what we do. You know, people recognize us, but they don't necessarily know all that we do. And then we thought, well, the only, the best way for people to understand what we do is to hear the stories of our families. And the intentionality is really also around the fact that our families are our heroes. When you hear the McBride story, they have such resilience, such incredible perseverance. They have overcome such adversity.

And as I've gotten to know, Jules and Devon, and Juliana, their daughter, but they still show up in the world with such optimism and hope and they're there for each other. And so this whole community, this global community that we have is what we wanted to lift up. And we knew the McBrides were like, no better famous family to start with. We want our families to be famous for the right reasons. It's so sweet. Yeah. So later ask me one other. I'll tell you one other story. You want to get to the McBride's. I love that. Yeah. Let's get into your guys. story. Obviously, I'd love to go back actually to before you were a family, three, when it was just the two of you.

I'd love to hear about how you guys met and a little bit about your love story. Yes. I'll let you tell us to her. She does such a good job. We met, so I stayed in Guam. My parents are military. I stayed in Guam after I graduated high school and I got my first government job on base and then was working in church with youth and dancing. So I saw him after church one day just at the back of the church. He was trying to leave with this friend. And I'm like, oh, he's nice looking. Let me go give him my number. And I gave it to him and I waited every day for him to call.

He finally called after two weeks. What, so you were confident. You made that move. Yes. She did. She jumped out there, and I'm really happily she did, you know, 21 years later. Yeah. At the time, those two weeks, I was going, did she really mean to talk to me?

So when I finally called, I got her dad's voice on the voicemail, and I was kind of nervous. He was an officer in the Air Force. Oh, wow. So I was really nervous about. So that's what it took you so long. Honestly, that's the time taking me the two weeks. Yeah. And I left the voicemail, you know, put my big boy pants on. I loved the voicemail and she called me back.

And we went on our first date and the rest was history. But I knew after our very first date, when I got back to the dorms, that's my wife. And I remember telling my friends who were in the dorms like, that's the one. That's the one. And they were like, yeah, right. But I knew right at that moment, I'm going to marry her. Wow. Yeah.

I'm more fascinated by stories like that, like the love at first sight because people ask us all the time. Like, did you know right away? I'm like, if I'm being honest, no, I didn't know right away that like that we're going to get married and like spend the rest of our lives together. I knew that, you know, there were qualities about her that I really loved and I wanted to get. But I, the love at first sight and like knowing immediately has always been like a crazy thing to me. Yeah. I mean, I think it didn't help that. I was like, I'm not dating when we met.

I was like, I'm not dating anyone. And you were kind of seeing someone or just started talking to someone. It wasn't complicated. It was an odd torn in our favor. It was a little messy, but yeah. How long after did you guys get married? We, well, so here's the thing. I did not want to marry into the military.

I didn't go into the military. I didn't want to marry into the military from having two military parents and moving around a lot. And so I said, oh, I'll just, we'll just stay friends since he was leaving to go to his next duty station. So we kept emailing, kept talking. This is like a year and a half later. And then he's like finally emailed me. And he said, listen, if you're not in Colorado by this date at this time, then don't email me anymore. I don't want to be just your friend.

Okay. There we go. And I was like, okay, I don't want to lose him. Let me go to Colorado. And then I got there and probably like maybe a month later, we would. were, well, I was engaged immediately, probably like maybe a, yeah. And then a month later, we were married. And yes, so 21 years later.

Wow. My gosh. That is so special. He knew. And I knew, too, I just didn't want to be, I didn't want to be a military spouse, but it was okay. I didn't want to move. And but now it's just like all these great experiences, all the places that we've been and things that we've done together.

and I wouldn't trade it for the world. That's so special. That's awesome. When you got pregnant, were you guys trying? Were you excited? Was it? Were you? Yes.

So I always knew I wanted to be a mom. We knew we talked about, we wanted a huge family. And we tried. We did have a few miscarriages throughout the years. And then I was in fertility treatment for a few years before we had our daughter. And I just could not get pregnant. I told him that month that we did get pregnant. I said, if this doesn't work, we'll just figure out some other avenue to become parents, whether it's adoption or whatever God has for us.

And so when I got pregnant that month, I said that and then two weeks later, I found out that we were pregnant. And I was just ecstatic. It's crazy how that happens. Yes. It was just so amazing. So Juliana was our last fertility treatment. It worked and wow. It was just.

After 10 years of trying. Yes. Yes. Yes. Wow. Wow. How do you like mentally, how was that mentally for you both? Because I can't imagine.

That's a long time to have to work through that. It's exhausting. Yeah. The fertility treatments alone. Yeah. Just trying to go through the injections and the routine. It is exhausting. But I knew that it was something that we had to get through because we were like, man, we want to be parents.

And so if it didn't work, we definitely had a backup plan to try adoption or surrogacy or, you know, one of those avenues. But mentally, oh my gosh, it was so tough to watch her go through. Yeah. Because those injections are brutal. Yeah. I want to get into the day of your accident. Obviously, this is something that. I actually feel like I've been learning.

I don't know if it's, I'm turning 29 this year. And I don't know if it's just me like still becoming an adult. But I've definitely really learned. I feel like my ignorance from childhood has definitely finally gone away. And I'm really realizing that life isn't just rainbows and butterflies. There's definitely a lot. And people are always going through something. And I want to hear a little bit about the day of your guys' accident because that day

really just kind of changed the trajectory of your life. Yes. So we have this thing on military bases called Parents Night Out. And it's where you give parents a, you come, you watch the kids, they play, they do whatever. But you're essentially supporting the mission. Yeah. And these parents get a break. They get to go on a date night with the people that they trust with their kids,

why they're, you know, typically gone at work all day. So I went and I did that. I only had a small two-hour window to be there because I was pregnant. And Javon said, oh, I'll go to the gym. This is perfect. And that's what we did. So upon us leaving work after that two hours or him coming to get me after the gym and us leaving the military base, we said, oh, we'll stop and get something to eat.

And we passed our house where we would typically turn in at. And probably no, probably a minute later, the last thing that I heard Javon say was there's lights coming at us. What is this guy doing? And I mean, it literally, by the time he said that, there was nothing. It was just, you felt this big bang. and the last thing that I remember was the glass shattering and waking up to the smell of the airbags and they're being like just dust and stuff everywhere. So, yeah.

Wow. But it was just a beautiful day before that. And it was like, you know, we took a couple baby bump pictures that day. And it was just a calm, beautiful day before. Yeah. How far along? Were you in your pregnancy? I was 25 weeks.

Okay. Wow. From after the accident, do you're, does it go fuzzy? And then do you kind of remember everything clearly after that? Or is it like bits and pieces? I mean, I'd love to hear from both. You're kind of what you. Were you both conscious?

Conscious? We were both conscious, but I definitely had it. We both sustained traumatic brain injuries. Okay. And she remembers more of the accident than I do. So there's bits and pieces where she has to remind me of, oh, this happened or that happened. But it was like slow motion. I remember watching the headlights come at us.

And all I could do was brace her stomach, you know, for impact. And the area that we lived in doesn't have shoulders on the roads. It goes straight into a ditch. And so I was going, okay, we're going to go into this ditch. And yes, we did. And she was trapped. And after the accident, once we finally came to, like she said, you can smell the smoke. and the airbags.

And I remember just kind of going through like mental checks and trying to feel my body. Am I okay? It's everything feeling like normal. Yeah. And my leg was the first thing I noticed that, huh, I can't feel that. Like my entire leg, I was going, I can't feel anything. Oh, wow. But I was more concerned about her.

Yeah. So we stopped for a second. We calmed down and we prayed. And after that, it was like everything went black for me. And the next thing I remember is the fire department. showing up and saying, hey, we got your wife, and we're going to get you out next. Wow. And I don't remember much after that.

It was kind of in and out, and the next thing you know, we're at the hospital. So it was like chapters, kind of just, you know, slow motion happening. When you say get you out next, you were still trapped? Yes. You were trapped under the car? Yes. Well, I was trapped in the car. And later on, we found out probably about two years later that the engine actually came

into the car and was sitting in my lap. Oh. And so I shattered everything from my ankle. up to my femur. Wow. And the fire department, we went to go, you know, say thank you. And they were like, we didn't think you guys survived. Oh, my gosh.

Yeah, two years later, they were going, we did think you guys survived. And so the captain broke down. He's like, oh, my gosh, we're so happy to see you guys. Oh, my gosh. And he's the one who told us, yes, the engine was in your lap. So you got pulled out first, and then you were still in there. But you said that you guys prayed together. in that moment.

We did. You were able to do that while both being stuck in the car. Absolutely. Wow. That is incredible. You know, it was one of those things where it was like, okay, what do we need to do right now? We're stuck, so we can't, you know, we can't do much else besides panic or pray. And I thought prayer, that's what we need right now.

Wow. And, you know, God saved us. He brought us through the other side. Yeah. That's so special. How did the fire trucks get alerted? Like, you guys didn't make a call, did you? No, we actually had somebody that was driving.

There was actually two more vehicles behind us. And they came up to the window and asked us if we were okay. They looked us over and they were calling immediately. Okay. So they saw that way for help. Yes. So during that time, like he said, We prayed and then we talked about what to do if, you know, if one of us didn't make it.

So, yeah. When you got to the hospital, what did that look like for you? Because you were pregnant. Do you remember them talking to you about what to do? Yes. So they needed two separate ambulances for us. They waited for, I always say, like, I remember the flares because I was laying on a backboard by a flare. because they were waiting for a second ambulance.

We couldn't go together. Both of us were just so hurt. So when we did arrive at the hospital, they pulled us into a, we were in the same trauma room and there was a curtain. And I do always understand what he says when there's chapters because listening to him,

it broke my heart, how he kept asking like every few seconds, where's my wife, is my baby? okay. And then a few moments later, it was the same thing. Whereas my wife is my baby okay. And so they were checking me over. They had to bring probably maybe three different people down because they could not find a heartbeat for Juliana. And then finally, um, the last person came into the room and she said it's there. It's there. And I just like, um, had a just a sigh of relief. Like, oh, my baby's alive. I could still hear him on the other side of the curtain. So I knew that

he was okay as long as he was talking. And then they said, okay, we're going to get you guys off to the full body imaging now. They did that. And then that's when we realized that we were going to be going to separate areas. I was going to be going to labor and delivery. And Javon was going to be going to the orthopedic floor because everything, like he said, had shattered from his femur down. Yeah. When you heard you had to have an emergency C-section, what was going through your mind when you heard that? Because you were still so early in your pregnancy. Yes.

So as soon as I got to the labor and delivery floor, they started pushing like the magnesium or the to get everything moving for our child. child so she had the best chance of possible outcome. And it wasn't until 12 hours later. And that's when the emergency doctor came in or OB and I knew I'm like something is wrong. And I had already been having some bleeding and spotting in those 12 hours. Yeah. And he said, we're going to have to get your child out. You're bleeding internally. And I may have to take your uterus. And I may have to take your uterus as well. And I knew that and I just said just please let my baby survive, whatever you have to do, even if you have to take my uterus, it's fine. I just want my baby to survive. Yeah. So, yeah. So

did he end up having to? No, so my uterus was still there. Everything ended up fine. And that was the first thing they told me when I did come to that they were able to save my uterus. Um, I was about 70% abrupted placental abruption when they went in. And then Juliana was okay. Yeah. She was okay. So her brain bleed from the accident didn't happen until two days later. Oh, wow.

Yes. Okay. Yes. How long after you guys were separated until you saw each other again? So we actually, did you? They actually brought us in right before they were going to do surgery. They needed to do emergency surgery on him at the same time. And they brought us in because they didn't know what was going to be the outcome with either of us.

And we prayed. We prayed for ourselves, for our baby. At that time, we gave her the name Juliana, Charlotte. Madison, Juliana for my grandmother, Charlotte for his. And then we added the extra name Madison. And then we also prayed for the driver who hit us because we didn't know, you know, what was what had happened or why that happened. So we just, we prayed for everybody. We prayed for the doctors, the nurses.

We wanted, you know, God please guide their hands and make it. everybody's safe. Yeah. And we had those few moments together and then we went our separate ways. Yeah. When I came out of surgery and I kind of came to me, like, okay, your wife and daughter are okay. You're okay. I was putting in an external fixator.

And so I had rods and screws all over my leg and it looked crazy. But, you know, more than anything, I just was happy to hear that my family's okay. Yeah. And then they did bring us together once again in that hallway. You don't remember it. But there is another photo of that. Oh, yes. Oh, my gosh.

How much did she weigh? Juliana weighed one pound and 10 ounces. Yes. Wow. She was so small, you guys. I could bear her in one hand, her entire body in one hand. That's crazy. And I just remember looking at her when they finally let me go to her room and she was in her incubator.

And I was just amazed at this little, this little human, you know, she was so tiny. but she was doing her best to survive. The nurses were giving her the best that they could. And I was so happy for that. But then I would kind of check out because, you know, I had the TVI. And so I would go just for small amounts of time until I could finally stand being there. So they will wheel my entire hospital bed into her room

and park me next to her. I would reach my hand into her little box and hold her fingers. And then they say, okay, that's enough. We're going to take you back now. That's so special. So throughout your hospital, say, when were you introduced to the Ronald McDonald house? This was probably, sorry, it was right after her brain bleed. Okay.

So probably are the day of, yeah, so day two is three. Oh, wow. And I didn't know what we were going to do. Yeah. But I knew that I was going to be in the hospital for a little bit longer. So we had a social worker come in and tell me. my mom, we have a place for you guys and they will take you guys as long as your daughter needs to be in the hospital. And it was Ronald McDonald's house. And it was the best news. Even now I can

still remember like, now I can just recover and worry about getting better. Yeah. The weight lifted off of your shoulders. Definitely. Knowing that you guys get to be together too. I mean, you know, we stayed an hour, hour and a half away from Kansas City at the time. Yeah. So when we were thinking, how are we going to make this work? How are we going to commute? I was still in the hospital. I stayed for a month.

Wow. And I was really concerned how is she going to be able to go back and forth and manage, you know, her life and take care of the baby. And is she going to come and see me? Who's going to see about me? Yeah. And my parents were coming in town every weekend. And Julie's mom stayed with us. For two months, it seemed like.

So we did have support there, but I was really concerned about her, you know, happened to travel. Yeah. And so when she finally told me, we have a place. Ronald Ginald House is going to let us stay. I remember thinking, oh, thank God. Yeah. It was right, you know, a mile away from the hospital. So, wow.

What a blessing. Yeah. True miracle. I can't imagine. What did, so once you get to the house, what did, you know, at the beginning, you know, at the beginning. What did daily, what did your days look like? Yes. So I was first with my mom. Okay. And once we got to the house, I was scared, but I felt a sense of hope. I had left my husband and my baby behind at the hospital, not knowing how long they would have to be there for. Yeah. But

Everybody was so welcoming and you just got this sense that things were going to be okay, that you were in good hands. And so we had our own room with the accessible bathroom because I still needed help to move around to get things done. And I did have a kitchen there, a table, just everything. So it was very accommodating. And so I was able to pump. I was able to store my breast milk there. They had everything laid out for us. We would get up.

We would have breakfast downstairs. And we would grab a, they called it a sunshine bag. So it was a paper bag with all these treats in it for while you're at the hospital, granolas, just all those things. And then we would leave and go to the hospital. be there all day, take care, go to his room, go to Juliana's. I would come while I was there and we would eat at the hospital and then we would come back in time for the nightly meals. And that was, it was, it was the highlight of our day because all these parents were coming in

from the hospital to make this, make the dinner time that volunteers come and prepare for everyone. nightly or a few nights a week. And you didn't have to worry about anything. You got your plate. You sat down, but everybody looked at each other. With this look, you know what people are going through. It is kind of like sympathy, but also encouragement. Yeah.

And that's a big part of what kept us going once we would come home from the hospital. And you knew you were leaving your child there. Yeah. I'm sure that's such like a. there's such a level of understanding between the parents that are there. To have that community

and that moment, I feel like, would just be a massive thing to keep you going every day. Yes. Everybody's, you know, they're going through their worst possible moments.

And so it was really cool to kind of bond. Yeah. And those moments over a meal and kind of talk, you know, talk things through and provide some encouragement

to each other or just a few jokes or a smile or a cry, wherever it may be. Yeah. It was really, cool to have those moments with other families and just talk things through. Yeah. Or, you know, if they brought their families in and they had their siblings who were there.

And we got to kind of experience that and talking to kids and the house that we stayed in, had an arcade in the basement. So that was kind of cool to go down there and just play around. You know, kind of take the mind off things for a little bit. Yeah. Yeah, exactly. Do you guys still keep in touch with the families that you met? Oh, yes, definitely.

And then we even, when we do go to Ronald McDonald House gala in Kansas City, we are able to be with them. We actually sat with them and had a great time a couple years ago. But we keep up on Facebook and have our daily, you know, or weekly things like, hey, how's everything going? That's so special. And the families that we do have, they were in the same situation. It's like an hour, they're an hour or two hours a week. from the Ronald McDonald's house as well. Yeah.

Yeah. And I, you know, the McBride story is so symbolic of like what we see around the world, whether it's here in the U.S. and multiple hours away. But I've been in Brazil where, you know, I met a family who were in from the Amazon and they like were six hours on a boat before they got to a road to get to the house at Sao Paulo. So the house in many parts of the world are houses, because they enable access to care, are sort of the difference between whether a child in some countries where we work can access that care or not. And then I think the community of support is part of what it's hard to measure. You know, we do global research. We talk with families all around the world and we hear this from them.

But there is one other dimension. I mean, this is a this is a. is a good, good outcome story in terms of both Javon and Jules being okay and Juliana being well now. She has some challenges to be sure, but she's, she is still thriving in her way. But also, sometimes those are not the outcomes that happen for many of our families. And I think that's why that community of support is so important. There is here in California, I think a story that I will never forget is, the Southern California Ronald McDonald house has a camp called Camp Ronald McDonald for good times, actually, which is kind of a great name in this 1970s that started. It's been around a long time.

But it's a camp for kids who are cancer patients have stayed at the house and their siblings. There was a teenage girl, this is a number of years ago, who they had gotten the news from her doctor that she would not survive her cancer. So she had, at least they told the family maybe a month left. And this young girl, young woman at the time, had gone to this camp for years. And she wanted to go back to the camp. And part of the story that to me says why we do, why we're doing the famous family thing about the courage of our parents is these two

parents had to decide to let her go to the camp because no parents get to go to that camp. because no parents get to go to that camp. And they did that. So of the maybe four weeks she had left on this earth, they let her go to this camp so she could be with her friends in that environment. And she, you know, reminded me, Javanna, what you were saying. She actually was bedridden.

And they literally took her bed around the camp so she could be kind of around her friends with the activities they were doing. And I just think about the courage, the total sacrifice that those parents had to make to be able to give that gift to their daughter. But those are the stories that are part of our system. And the last three years, we've served about 1.6 million families. And together have saved those families $2 billion in the expenses that they would otherwise incur.

I'm sure. By if they had to pay for all of the services and the housing that they get. Yeah. Wow. That's incredible. What you touched on it, I'd love to know what Juliana's recovery was kind of in the beginning and maybe where she's at now today. Yeah. So it was a lot in the beginning. We did start out. We were fortunate enough from knowing that she had the brain bleed. So as soon as we got back to the military base, this was 105 days later. Wow. And she was able to receive services immediately, anywhere from P-T-O-T and all of this as a newborn baby. And so, yeah, so she's always gotten these services. She was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at two years old. That's when they can finally make the diagnosis.

Got it. Luckily, like I said, she was receiving those services. So she's continued on. She's gotten oral therapy services to help her learn how to eat. And that was significant because then she didn't need a G2. Yeah. So she was able to eat everything by mouth that helps her talk. So, yes, am I missing anything?

I think you got it all. I mean, she gets all, anything that we can offer or provide, any service that comes up. We're like, we're going to do it. If it's intense physical therapy, if it's speech, if it's P-T-O-T, we're like, we're going to do it. We're going to jump right in and push her to work her hardest, you know? I always, you know, I talk about resiliency. It's one of those things that was kind of put into me growing up. But the military really encouraged that too. So I want to put that in her to keep going. Your circumstances may not be like everybody else's. But it's important that you do your best.

And so I want her to see me do my best. And so I push her to go forward and try everything. Try new foods. Try to walk. Try to talk. Try to do anything that your mind can think of. Yeah. And she is absolutely willing to do whatever at this point.

She's like, yeah, dad, let's do it. Yes. That's so special. What does it mean for you guys to serve as the first ever global spokes family? I can't imagine what, like, what did you first think when Ronald McDonald House came to you and asked you if you wanted to do this? I thought it was full circle, a full circle moment. Yeah. Yes.

I previously, probably a few months before, had done the voiceover commercials. And I was just in, I was very grateful to do that. So I thought that right there was the full circle moment. Wow. Because the stories just matched up exactly with ours. Yeah. And so then when we were asked, I was like, wow, this truly is full circle. Yeah.

So, and we just want to be inspiring to others. We want to always, that has always been our goal to help those who will come after us. Yeah. I've had so many people reach out to me. that have said, oh, we were hit in a collision to, or our baby survived, or what do we need to do? What are the next steps? Yeah. Or people that say, hey, we stayed at Ronald McDonald's House as well, or they helped our family.

And that's the goal just to get this message out there more that there is. Yeah. Ronald McDonald's house. And they will be there to help with the next step. Yeah. Yeah. You guys have been through so much. It's very inspiring.

I am curious if there's one thing that through all of this, Juliana has taught you. To be strong. Strength, absolutely. I always thought, oh, I'm strong. I live weights and all these things. And I always tell everybody, so I grew up boxing, And so I thought, okay, I want to raise my child to be a fighter.

And who would have thought that I got the greatest fighter I've ever seen in my life? She has fought through 10 brain surgeries, two hip surgeries. She's done all the amazing things. And I thought, man, this is so cool that she is teaching me a lesson at 9 years old to be strong, to have the courage to just go forward. Yeah. We try to put that into our friends and family as well. Yeah.

Yeah. She's a fighter for sure and so are you guys. Yeah. That's so special. Katie, what is it like for you to, I mean, I'm sure you hear stories like this all the time. What impact does that have on you? Like I can't imagine how fulfilling that must be for you to be able to get to be a small part of these family stories. This is just one. Yeah. We're so impacted by this single conversation. I can't imagine. Like there's, you know, thousands of these. Yeah. I mean, it is a little overwhelming, to be honest. Like, if I'm totally honest, when I have the great privilege to go and visit with families, which I do often, we'll do later today here in California, and hear their stories,

you're just humbled, like, so deeply humbled by their courage, their strength. And, like, listening to Jules and Javon, I mean, their inspiration, right? Like so many people, you know, life is hard. And you were talking about this, you know, like, and it couldn't have been harder for you guys. And you had choices about how to how to cope with that. And you chose even in the moment to look to prayer and optimism and in faith and a belief that things can get better. So for me and our team, it's about we draw so much inspiration. And we often, those of us who work in this system and they're about, you know, probably about

7,000 people around the world who are working in Ronald McDonald's houses on any given day. And then hundreds of thousands of volunteers. And I think people come and do it because you just are so happy to be a small part of somebody else's healing, their journey. Selfishly, I think we get more out of it for sure because we draw inspiration from you. And we're reminded about what really matters in life. And you just get that every day. So it's the best job ever. Yeah. Looking ahead, can you share more about your 2030 goal to double? Yeah. So happy to. So we have a goal. We called our bold ambition, but we actually have a plan to get there to double the number of families we serve in our houses.

Which is crazy. After she literally like I had this. No, I had the question. Question written. And like, yeah. After the $1.2 million and the $2 billion in savings, now she's saying that we want to double that. I'm like, what? Yeah. So we want to double because we also pay very close attention to what the demand is for our services. And what we know from pretty robust analysis that globally we're serving about 35% of the families who

would benefit from our services. So we're not getting to so many families who need us. And like I said, in a lot of parts of the world, that is the difference between a child who is nine hours away from a pediatric hospital to get cancer treatment or a heart transplant or a NICU baby. That's the difference in whether they're going to survive or not. So we have a huge urgency to do that. And so we want to double the number of families we serve by 2030. And in the U.S., our demand data is about 55%. We're meeting about 55% of the needs.

So we have a real plan just this last year. We opened 38 new houses or family rooms or expanded houses and family rooms. And so just in the last year. So new houses in Peru and Denmark, in Louisiana. So we're really excited all of Miami is coming online. soon with the new house. So we're really excited about the growth we're experiencing. Wow. That's so cool. For our listeners, our lemon drops, that's what we called them, who are moved by your story and everything that we've heard today. What are the most meaningful ways

for people to help and get involved? Yeah. So, I mean, volunteering, I think, is like the number one way people can get involved. And, you know, by doing it, I guarantee you you're going to get more out of it than you put into it. For sure. And that shows up in a myriad. or ways from serving meals to doing family activities with the kids to, you know, I remind people the holidays. It's not like families go home for their Christmas holiday or other holidays that families experience. So the houses have all kinds of activities they need help with. Transportation, tutoring and education. A lot of our houses have education programs. So siblings who are staying there and the child patients don't fall behind in school. Because a lot of our,

A lot of our kiddos and houses are outpatient too. So they're not necessarily hospitalized, but they have to stay at the house for an extended period of time while they're getting treatment. So there's just so many ways to get involved and to help support the mission. And we invite people to do that. Go to Ronald McDonald's house.org and you can find your chapter near you. Yeah. I love that.

That's so special. We'll be sure to leave a link down below and all the details. But again, we're just so thankful for you guys. coming on and sharing your story. Honor to get to be a part of it. Like I said, like these conversations give, I know both of us, so much like fuel and energy to do what we do. And we're just an honor to have you guys a part of the Squeeze family now.

Thank you. Thank you for helping us share these stories. It means the world to us. So thank you. No, you two leave me in awe and Juliana as well. and you do as well for all the work that you do because it would be, you know, not possible without you. Well, we're a team. Yeah, we love it.

All the families and staff and volunteers. Dream team, baby. Yeah. I love that. Awesome. Please note that this episode may contain paid endorsements and advertisements for products and services. Individuals on the show may have a direct or indirect financial interest in products or services referred to in this episode.