Kallen Blevins has been in the hospital all his short life.
His mother, Melissa, is hopeful he'll go home in a couple of weeks, though.
"Just depends on when he decides to go home ... and right now he's taking his time," Blevins said.
Born premature and with a brain bleed, Kallen has been at The Children's Hospital at Saint Francis since his birth on April 10. That's a long drive from Melissa's home in Grove.
As she didn't know anyone here in town, her options were either to sleep somewhere in the hospital or drive up on weekends - and the latter was hardly an option for the new mother.
Thankfully, by April 12, she came to Ronald McDonald House of Tulsa, which provides safe, comfortable room and board for families like Melissa's, whose children are being treated in Tulsa hospitals for serious medical illness or injury.
Helping Ronald McDonald House continue that mission will be McDazzle Fun Ball, an annual fundraiser set for 6:30 p.m. Sept. 12 at Southern Hills Country Club, 2636 E. 61st St. Proceeds will benefit the house's operating budget and capital improvements.
"Families are under incredible obstacles when they have a sick child," said Lucia O'Connor, a Ronald McDonald House board member. It's a "home away from home that offers a bed, a meal and moral support for these families to renew their strength to help their children heal."
To make arrangements to stay at the Ronald McDonald House, families must be referred by a hospital social worker or nurse, according to information from the organization. After receiving referral information, the family is placed on the house's waiting list. Due to high demand for rooms and the fact that hospital discharge dates are uncertain, families are placed on a waiting list in the order in which the referral was received and no more than three days out.
Families of four or fewer are eligible to stay at Ronald McDonald House if they live outside a 25-mile radius of Tulsa, and their child is 21 years of age or younger and is being cared for because of a physical illness or injury.
A daily donation of $10 per day per room is suggested, and a $5 key deposit is required. Families unable to make a donation can speak with their hospital social or case worker to make special arrangements.
But no one is ever turned away because of inability to donate.
At just 22 weeks into her pregnancy, Melissa went into labor. Scary enough as that is, it was even more frightening because she had already lost one child.
"The only thing I could think of was, because of what happened two years ago, it was going to happen again," said Melissa, who spent more than a week without leaving bed. "I knew something was wrong."
At 23 1/2 weeks, Melissa gave birth to Kallen. He weighed 1 pound, 2 ounces and was 12 inches long.
He's come far since then. Now, he's taking his bottle well. He has a chronic lung disease, but he's having breathing treatments - and weighs 6 pounds, 7 ounces.
"If it wasn't for Ronald McDonald House, I don't know what I would've done," she said. "It's very, very nice here ... a very lovely place."
For more on Ronald McDonald House, visit
tulsaworld.com/rmhtulsa
The Tulsa Community College (TCC) Foundation will honor Donald E. Walker, president and CEO of Arvest Bank of Tulsa, for his outstanding contributions to the greater Tulsa area through his community involvement at the Vision in Education Leadership Award Dinner. Also, Nathaniel S. (Nate) Waters, a TCC graduate and advocate for the physically challenged, will be posthumously awarded the TCC Stephen J. Jatras Award.
Proceeds benefit the foundation, which was established to support the mission and vision of TCC.
Event details: Tuesday, Sept. 10 - 6 p.m. reception, 7 p.m. dinner and program - Cox Business Center, 100 Civic Center Drive
Attire: Business
Sponsors: Presenting - Walton Family Foundation; Leadership - Cox Business, ONEOK, Charles and Lynn Schusterman Foundation, Anne and Henry Zarrow Foundation
Tickets: $200; sponsorships $2,500-$20,000. Individual tickets are $200.
From each meal, 10 percent of proceeds will be donated to the Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma to benefit its Food for Kids Backpack Program. All Restaurant Week proceeds will be matched by the George Kaiser Family Foundation up to $25,000.
Event details: Sept. 7-15
Restaurants (at last count): La Madeleine, The Canebrake, Wild Fork, McNellie's (downtown and south Tulsa), Dilly Deli, The Tavern, Yokozuna, El Guapo's Cantina, Bonefish Grill, In the Raw on Peoria, Smoke on Cherry Street, The Vault, Bodean Restaurant, Cosmo Café and Bar, Melting Pot, Bluestone Steakhouse, Baxter's Interurban, Cardigan's, The Chalkboard, French Hen, KEO (Brookside and south Tulsa), Michael V's, McGill's (21st and 61st streets), Palace Café, Polo Grill, Sonoma Bistro & Wine Bar, Villa Ravenna, Sushi Alley, Andolini's, Joe Momma's, Back Alley BBQ, Go West, Hey Mambo, Wolfgang Puck Bistro, Foundations Restaurant, The Hen, Doc's Wine and Food
For more: tulsaworld.com/restaurantweek2013
In conjunction with National Literacy Awareness Month, Tulsa City-County Library and the Tulsa Library Trust present this fun event where you can enjoy food and wine, followed by coffee, from some of the area's tastiest restaurants - all while listening to awesome authors Deborah Crombie, Russell Lawson and Jay Jennings. The authors' books will be available for purchase, too.
Proceeds benefit Tulsa City-County Library's Ruth G. Hardman Adult Literacy Service.
Event details: 6:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 6, Hardesty Regional Library, 8316 E. 93rd St.
Attire: Casual (Don't translate this to mean pajamas.)
Sponsors: TulsaPeople, George W. Krumme, Charles and Marion Weber Foundation, Bryan R. Close, Linda and Doug Farquharson, Gelvin Foundation, Lynn and Bill Peacher, Dick Ekdahl, Susan and Bob Mase, Dr. Bernard and Marcy Robinowitz
Tickets: $50 (reserve by Aug. 29, 918-549-7364)
For more: tulsaworld.com/chapters2013
The Little Light House, 5120 E. 36th St., is in need of volunteers in its classrooms.
Volunteers are needed to provide one-on-one support for the school's students with disabilities. Without the support of volunteers, the Little Light House would not be able to give the one-on-one care that each child requires.
The school needs 180 volunteers to fill its quota to help provide one-on-one, adult-to-child interaction in the classrooms. This extra attention helps children with special needs achieve their goals.
Classroom volunteer hours are 8:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday. All new volunteers will receive a free Little Light House T-shirt.
The Little Light House is a tuition-free Christian developmental center that provides educational and therapeutic services for children with special needs, ages birth to 6 years old.
To volunteer, contact Molly Smith at 918-664-6746 or
msmith@littlelighthouse.org
For more: tulsaworld.com/llhvolunteers
McDazzle Fun Ball
This annual fete for Ronald McDonald House of Tulsa promises to live up to its name, including a fabulous dinner and awesome auction items such as a 2014 Masters package, dinner for eight with Barry Switzer at the Polo Grill and an Indy 500 experience for Memorial weekend 2014.
Proceeds benefit the operating budget and capital improvements for Ronald McDonald House of Tulsa.
Event details: 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 12, Southern Hills Country Club, 2636 E. 61st St.
Attire: Fun cocktail (Your favorite LBD will do fine, but jazz it up with a slightly over-the-top accessory.)
Sponsors: Advance Research Chemical & Manufacturing LLC, Bama, The Mervin Bovaird Foundation, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Oklahoma, Nelson Auto Group, Helmerich & Payne Inc., McDonald's, Bank of Oklahoma, Saint Francis Health System on behalf of the Children's Hospital at Saint Francis
Tickets: $150 each; sponsorships $500-$10,000 (918-496-2727)
Jason Ashley Wright 918-581-8483
jason.wright@tulsaworld.com
Original Print Headline: Blessing for families
People & Places
Any evening that starts with a red carpet and Spartan soldiers forming a sword-drawn canopy over your head deserves writing about.
Come December, Shannon West will be a college graduate.
