Ronald McDonald House Changes Volunteer's Life After Unexpected Encounter With Young Cancer Patient
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — The Ronald McDonald houses wouldn't be the same without the volunteers, many of whom put in countless hours, giving their time to help the families feel at home.
One of those volunteers says the Ronald McDonald House changed his life and it started with an unexpected encounter with a young cancer patient.
"It changed me as a man," said Daniel Szymanski.
Szymanski is the backbone of the Ronald McDonald House of Delaware.
He has volunteered here for 17 years – a journey that began when his life came crashing down.
"My parents had passed away. My brother, who was my best friend, got a brain tumor. I was in the middle of a divorce and my employers said, you know what, because of a past accident, we're sorry but we're gonna have to let you go," explained Szymanski.
He knew he had to make a change, so he called the Ronald McDonald House manager.
"I said, Would it be OK tomorrow if I came up and played my guitar for the kids? She said, 'Sure you can,'" said Szymanski.
Little did he know a chance encounter was about to change his life.
"The house manager said, 'Before you leave, are you any good at fixing things' because we didn't have a maintenance department at the time. I said, 'Yeah, I guess so.' She wanted me to screw in some old cabinets that were falling off in the kitchen. I said, 'Sure, I can do that,' and I'm in there and I'm screwing away and in comes this little boy – I would say about 8 years old – and he's watching me and I'm watching him and after a couple minutes he says, 'What are you doing?' I said, 'I don't know, what are you doing?' He says, 'Guess what?' I said, 'What?' He said, 'My white blood count is back to normal' and then he said, 'Guess what else? I don't have to do chemotherapy anymore, so I don't have to wear a mask.' And off he goes, never saw him again. I'm feeling this dark cloud that was over me when I walked in pop like a bubble."
Szymanski does a little bit of everything at the house, from keeping the rooms in tip-top shape, to driving patients to the hospital.
And every day, he remembers that little boy.
"To this day, 17 years later, that little boy is still my guardian angel. People tease me and say you're at the RMH all the time. I always say the same thing, I cannot give this place enough hours. I'd love to know where he is right now because he does not know the seed he planted in my heart."
