Three-year-old Lucy Waldeisen doesn’t like New York, but no one could blame her.
Lucy is in the city from Montana to receive treatment for neuroblastoma, which stems from an adrenal gland that has become a cancerous tumor.
While she and her family are in the city from the small town of Bozeman, the Waldeisen's are staying at the Ronald McDonald House of New York, a non-profit providing housing for young cancer patients and their families.
"The things that everyone does here: the volunteering, the bringing dinners, the toys and things like this, it's beyond amazing," Lucy’s father, Lars said. "We've never seen stuff like this before."
On Friday, the non-profit group received the gift of 21 new industrial strength washers and driers from the Hercules Corporation. The machines, which will replace older, less efficient models, will help make families stays at the house more comfortable.
"Just like you and I, their clothes get dirty every single day," said Ronald McDonald House president William Sullivan. "And oftentimes with a sick child it's even more so. So to have a real machine washer and drier steps away from their room is a necessity."
Located on the Upper East Side, near hospitals like Memorial Sloan-Kettering, the house is the largest in the country holding around 350 people. The charity has kitchens, play rooms, common areas, an outdoor space and 84 four-person rooms, which cost $35 a night.
But Waldeisen says the Ronald McDonald house is more than an affordable place to stay, it's a home away from home.
"Even if you're not financially strapped it still is a big emotional problem to come this far," he said. "And to be around everyone else who has these problems and to have the help that they give us it's helped a lot. A whole lot."
