Traci McDowell, a longtime volunteer with RMHCSC, will forever remember the day when a boy came to the office to check out a video game. Traci saw his chemotherapy port. They exchanged a smile. The boy asked why she chose to help at the Ronald McDonald House. “I told him I had a son who was sick,” Tracy said. “What did your son have?” Traci told him her son Kevin had Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. The young boy’s voice softened. “I have Hodgkin’s Lymphoma,” he said. He paused and looked into her eyes and then asked, “Could you please come and talk to my mom?” He explained that she was in the other room, crying. “She is afraid I’m going to die,” he said. Traci followed him into the game room. For the next 30 minutes he was able to just be a kid, trying to beat a video game while Traci sat with his mom. They talked: “Will he beat this?” “Did your son beat this, she asked?” Traci’s son Kevin was diagnosed over 10 years ago. Not only did he beat it, he went on to win a Silver Medal in the 2021 Olympics. Sometimes the right volunteer can give a parent all the hope she needs to move forward.

Follow the link to read all of Traci and Kevin’s story.