Family, community pays back Ronald McDonald House generosity with donation

A family from rural Alberta is giving back to the Ronald McDonald House in Edmonton by donating dozens of quilts in memory of their daughter.

An aunt’s love for her niece will have a lasting impact on families experiencing serious medical events.

Presley was born with CDKL5 deficiency disorder, a disorder typically characterized by seizures beginning within the first months of a baby’s life.

She died in 2024 before turning two years old, having been flown from her hometown Manning in northern Alberta for emergency treatment, often at the Stollery Children’s Hospital, 14 times.

On what would end up being Presley’s last trip to the Stollery, her grandmother picked out a handmade quilt from the Ronald McDonald House’s quilt room – one made and donated by Presley’s aunt just a few weeks earlier.

“It was obvious that she was not going to come out of this. She actually passed away covered (by) that quilt,” the girl’s aunt, Raylene Landry, told CTV News Edmonton on Friday.

Although Landry had donated quilts to tragedies like the 2018 Humboldt Broncos bus crash and 2020 Nova Scotia mass shooting, Landry had been inspired by her niece to make that quilt and several others for the Ronald McDonald House.

Driven by Presley’s memory, Landry and her local quilting club have since made 30 more quilts for the Ronald McDonald House.

“(Ronald McDonald House) was a blessing for (Presley’s) family, for her young parents and sister… to have a hot meal or a bit of sleep,” Landry said.

Additionally, a room at Ronald McDonald House Edmonton has been dedicated to Presley for three years.

“Families that stay in that room, they know that someone cares about them…. When they see that plaque and when they see Presley’s name, (it’s) something for them to also think about and know that another family is thinking of them,” Ronald McDonald House spokesperson Suzanne Pescod said.

As for Landry’s quilts, Pescod said families often keep them for decades.

“What people might not understand about going through a medical journey when you don’t live close to a hospital is that you have to travel, and that comes with barriers that you might not have expected, including the loss of your community and the comfort that you would find if you were at home. So things like a quilt and a magic room visit, and the ability to kind of feel like you’re still at home and you’re still supported by that community, is so important and means a lot towards that healing or medical journey they’re going through.”

Landry promised, “We want her memory and her legacy to live on, so there’s the room dedicated to her for three years and possibly more, and I’ll continue to do this.”

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Evan Klippenstein