Two-Year-Old Cancer Patient Misses Birthday Celebration Due To Chicago Looters Targeting Ronald McDonald House

During the mass mayhem and looting in Chicago earlier this week, looters targeted the Ronald McDonald House, a charity that provides a place for families with sick children to stay close to hospitals.

One of the families staying at the Chicago Ronald McDonald House is the family of two-year-old Owen Buell, who is receiving treatment at Lurie Children’s Hospital for Stage 4 neuroblastoma.

The family planned to bring their sick baby to Joliet to celebrate his birthday, but were unable to do so thanks to the violent riot.

“We were going to have cake and ice cream and do some presents at home with his siblings and his grandma,” Owen’s mother, Valerie Mitchell, told local station WBBM.

The approximately 30 families staying at the house were also told not to try to get to the children’s hospital during the riot.

“We got a phone call from the nurse saying that none of the nurses could make it in for safety concerns and they didn’t want any families in the middle of that trying to walk into Lurie’s,” Mitchell said. “The whole door was shattered and it looked like a bullet hole, so I started freaking out thinking about how unsafe that was. You shouldn’t feel that way when your kid needs medical care. You shouldn’t be afraid to walk a few blocks down the street.”

The mayhem added unneeded stress for the families that are already dealing with so much.

“I ask myself why can he not just have cancer? Why does there have to be coronavirus with it? Why is there all this protesting? I just feel like a lot of this stuff really makes it worse for him and our family. If he was going through treatment a year ago his siblings would be able to come here,” Mitchell said.

The family is hoping to still be able to bring him home for a birthday celebration before his next round of treatment.

 

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