When she was 20 weeks pregnant, Tanisha learned that her baby had a rare diagnosis called Lower Urinary Tract Obstruction. LUTO happens in 1 of 5,000-7,000 pregnancies. It’s a life-threatening condition that affects the baby’s kidneys, bladder, and lungs.

After receiving news that their baby had a very low chance of survival, Tanisha’s husband, Quentin, wanted to give his baby the best chance of survival. That meant coming to Cincinnati.

They left home in Arkansas and found hope in their stay at Cincinnati’s Ronald McDonald House for the remainder of her pregnancy. Tanisha shared:

“The House blessed us with a hotel voucher since we waited months for a long-term room to become available. Right before Christmas, we moved into the House. The House gave hope to our family by providing food, shelter, fun activities and baby gifts.” 

Baby Jaleel was born in January 2018 and required respiratory intervention immediately after his birth. He spent 81 days at Cincinnati Children’s NICU. He needed eight surgeries, three blood transfusions, and one dialysis treatment.

Jaleel is now an active two-year-old battling stage 5 chronic kidney disease. While he waits for a living kidney donor match, his family has been volunteering at their local Ronald McDonald House to give back. They had the following to share:

“We would like to personally thank Cincinnati’s Ronald McDonald House for being our ‘home away from home’ for almost four months. Words can’t really express our gratitude for your kindness and hospitality to our family!” -Tanisha and Quentin