Some evenings, Jolene Keen returns totally exhausted.
Volunteers preparing dinner at Ronald McDonald House Central and Northern Arizona always seem to know when it has been an especially difficult day. They’ll encourage Jolene to sit down, take a break and let them serve her dinner.
Jolene has spent more than nine months caring for her 20-year-old daughter Ashley Nelson through a cancer diagnosis, chemotherapy, radiation, changing treatment plans and the uncertainty of what comes next.
“It’s been a really long journey, trying to stay strong for her,” Jolene said.
Those small moments of kindness from Ronald McDonald House staff and volunteers have helped every day since Ashley’s life changed unexpectedly last December, more than 150 miles away on the Navajo Nation, east of Flagstaff.
A trip to the local emergency department with severe chest pain interrupted Ashley’s holiday plans. Doctors thought she had simply pulled a muscle while working out and sent her home with a muscle relaxer and ibuprofen.
But the pain kept getting worse.
When Ashley returned to the hospital, doctors discovered a mass in her chest. She was flown to a hospital in Chandler, where further testing led to a diagnosis of sarcoma, a rare cancer that forms in the body’s connective tissue.
Ashley was transferred to Mayo Clinic in Phoenix for specialized cancer care. With a prognosis of many months of treatment ahead, Ashley and Jolene were referred to Ronald McDonald House, where families of patients up to age 21 can receive lodging, meals and the comforts of home at no cost. They’ve been guests there since January.
Ashley initially underwent chemotherapy, but when her tumor continued to grow, doctors changed course, turning to radiation and eventually a different chemotherapy treatment. Through each change, Ashley and Jolene have remained at Ronald McDonald House, close to the care Ashley needs.
At Ronald McDonald House, Ashley and Jolene met other families facing difficult medical diagnoses, and people with whom they share a special connection to their home on the Navajo Nation.
“It’s really nice when we see volunteers that we can converse with in our own language and talk about the reservation,” Jolene said.
After months away from home, Ashley and Jolene have also found comfort in simple things they experience daily at Ronald McDonald House.
Jolene is most grateful for the cold air conditioning, especially during the summer in Phoenix.
For Ashley, it’s the windows and natural light in their apartment.
“She doesn’t like it dark,” Jolene said. “Ashley really likes staying at Ronald McDonald House. She says she feels comfortable there.”
When she feels up to it, Ashley spends her time at Ronald McDonald House doing the things she enjoyed before cancer treatment became part of her life: painting and drawing, playing Xbox and taking walks.
Before her diagnosis, Ashley had just completed a six-month workforce program on the reservation and started working as a receptionist at the local fire department. Cancer put those plans on hold, but she’s looking forward to being able to work again.
For now, Ashley and her mom continue to stay at Ronald McDonald House, which keeps them close to the treatment being provided at Mayo Clinic.
Jolene is grateful for the room, the meals and especially the people who have been there during some of their hardest days.
“On the bad days, the employees and volunteers try to support you any way they can,” she said. “I am thankful for that.”