“Grady's survived the longest any baby with his severe lung disease has had. We've been told he has the most severe lung disease they've ever seen,” Grady’s dad Rich Uckert said.
Grady was born three months too soon. His prognosis right now is touch and go, but his mom and dad know he's in the best hands.
Thanks to the Ronald McDonald House Charities, they're only steps away.
“We didn't know what Ronald McDonald exactly was, the house you know, until you need it and we learned fast,” Rich said.
The Uckert's are from Clear Lake, South Dakota, about an hour and a half away. So when they're not here with their baby, they're here at their home-away-from-home.
“Both houses are full with a waiting list almost every night, which really came as a great surprise to the charity,” Executive Director MJ Schmidt said.
They expected to be full with a waiting list sometime over the years, but not in the first six months of the second house opening in Sioux Falls.
Schmidt says that's thanks to growth in specialized medical care right here in Sioux Falls.
“We're going to see a direct reflection of whatever they're doing at either of the hospitals,” Schmidt said.
Families here can stay as long as their child is in the hospital, which can be anywhere from a single night to an entire year.
“We didn't know we'd be here this long. We didn't know the course Grady would take,” Rich said.
Their stay wouldn't be possible without the generous help of others.
“The organization depends almost entirely on donations to keep our doors open,” Schmidt said.
It allows the Uckerts to be in walking distance of their baby and not financially broken when their family finally gets to go home.
“The doctor's here, you know, they're so knowledgeable. The experience they have is tremendous and we just feel very lucky that we can be so close to home still and get this type of care,” Rich said.
