“Our girls know this House better than their own home now and the staff are their family. We count our blessings that we have a place like this and their support while Eva’s journey continues.”
“Our girls know this House better than their own home now and the staff are their family. We count our blessings that we have a place like this and their support while Eva’s journey continues.”

The Mitchell Family

Finding strength from being together

At 20 weeks pregnant Mum Tiffany was told her baby had a diaphragmatic hernia, where the baby’s left side of the diaphragm isn’t formed, and was therefore unlikely to survive birth. Despite the odds, Eva was born on 13th September 2007. Her first 5 weeks were spent in a coma and with only half a diaphragm, Eva’s organs were pushed up into her chest putting stress on her lungs and heart.

At 6 weeks old Eva underwent her first surgery to rebuild her diaphragm. To date, Eva has undergone 3 diaphragm reconstructions as her body continues to outgrow them; along the way she has suffered 3 strokes and 7 bouts of pneumonia, and she remains on oxygen and is fed through a tube in her stomach 24 hours a day.

Eva (now 4), along with Mum and her sister Mela, age 5, continue to be one of our longest staying families, having spent over 700 nights with us to date.

“We are so grateful to Ronald McDonald House Auckland. Being able to stay together as a family and share the responsibility of caring for both Eva and Mela, has made this journey more bearable,” says Tiff. "Our girls know this House better than their own home now and the staff are their family. We count our blessings that we have a place like this and their support while Eva’s journey continues"

Due to Eva’s health issues the family have been residing with us permanently since June 2009 as Eva requires daily hospital care.

“No one really knows what to do for her, but I am grateful for the effort the doctors are putting in to helping Eva. Eva is just like any other 4 year old, she has a great personality and tenacity for life, I cherish every day we have with her” says Mum Tiff.
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