Derrick and Melva were looking forward to welcoming their second child in December of 2020. They had no reason to worry, given the easy, uneventful pregnancy they had with their now 5-year-old daughter Zendaya.
Then three weeks before her due date, Melva was rushed to Tucson Medical Center, 70 miles from home on the Tohono O’odham Nation Reservation near Sells. She needed an emergency C-section. Baby Greyson’s blood sugar was dangerously low.
“We didn’t know how serious it was at first,” Melva said. “The first time we saw him it was hard. He has a CPAP machine for his lungs and a PICC line in his bellybutton.”
Four days later, Melva was discharged, still never having held Greyson. The worry grew. Worst of all, the pandemic meant that Greyson could only have one visitor at a time. The idea of one parent waiting in the car all day long was overwhelming. Then their social worker told them about the Ronald McDonald House.
The Ronald McDonald House offered all the amenities of home just minutes from the hospital. There is no maximum length of stay, so it could be their “home away from home” as long as they needed. And even though it costs the charity about $100 per night per family, generous community donors ensure that no family is ever asked for pay for their stay.
When a child is sick, “all your focus should be on the healing of your child and that’s what the Ronald McDonald House was. We weren’t stressed out about anything else,” Derrick said. Melva, Derrick, and Zendaya stayed at the Ronald McDonald House for 26 nights while Greyson recovered in the hospital.
Donations from individuals (charitable tax credit donations) account for more than 70% of the charity’s annual funding, so these gifts are crucial. The charity also accepts monthly recurring donations on its website so donors can split their annual gift into smaller installments.
To learn more about Greyson’s family and donating, visit rmhctucson.org/donate.
Aerial photos of Tucson, Pima County, in 1980
Swan Road and Sunrise Drive in February, 1980. The new Safeway Plaza is bottom right. Catty-corner from the Safeway, a Burger King restaurant is under construction. Across the street, land bladed for a Valley National Bank (now Chase Bank), a restaurant, retail and apartments. The old Rural Metro fire station is behind the street mall at top right.
Oracle Road (left to right) and Ina Road in February, 1980. There were gas stations on three corners of the intersection. All have been demolished. The venerable Casas Adobes Plaza is lower right, now anchored by Whole Foods. The open land at upper right is now the Safeway Plaza. The bank on the corner is still there, but the existing buildings to the right were demolished to make way for parking for the new plaza. Lower left is the property for the Haunted Bookshop, now Tohono Chul Park.
Oracle Road and Magee Road north of Tucson in February, 1980. Plaza Escondida is at right, now anchored by Trader Joe's. The open land at bottom of the photos is now the large retail plaza anchored by Kohl's, Sprouts and Summit Hut. The Circle K (sitting alone, upper left) is now a ballroom dance studio. Note the new asphalt on Oracle Road. In 1977, the state approved a project to widen Oracle Road (a state highway) to six lanes from Ina to Calle Concordia. That may be the last time the road was paved.
Tucson Medical Center in February, 1980. The intersection of Grant and Craycroft roads is at bottom left.
O'Reilly Chevrolet (cluster of cars), then Park Mall (center left) and Broadway Road in February, 1980. The open land at top left is now Williams Centre.
The FICO pecan orchards, bisected by South Nogales Highway, looking north to Sahuarita Road in February, 1980.
Tanque Verde Road (bottom left to upper left) and Wrightstown Road in February, 1980, before the City of Tucson constructed the grade-separated interchange. The first units of the Tanque Verde Apartments are lower left. The Circle K facing Wrightstown at the intersection is now Pair-A-Dice Barbers. The large parking lot and building to the left of the Circle K was the O.K. Corral Steakhouse, which was established in 1968. It closed in 2008. It's now Borderlands Trading Company.
Corona de Tucson Baptist Church, lower right, on Houghton Road south of Sahuarita Road in February, 1980. With exception of some infill housing and a few more trees, the neighborhood looks pretty much the same.
IBM (International Business Machines) on south Rita Road, looking north to the Santa Catalina Mountains in February, 1980. In 1988, IBM began phasing out data storage products manufacturing in Tucson, resulting in the loss of nearly 2,800 workers in Tucson, part of a $600 million consolidation plan.
Tucson National Golf Course north of Tucson, looking south, in February, 1980. The Cañada del Oro Wash is at left. Magee Road goes left to right at the top of the photo. Shannon Road curves to the left at top of the photo. That open land is now home to Pima Community College and the YMCA.
