2-Year-Old Cancer Patient Had To Miss BDay Party Thanks To Looters & Rioters Outside Chicago Ronald McDonald House

In the course of the mayhem, violence, and looting in Chicago earlier this week, looters targeted the Ronald McDonald House, a charity that provides a place to stay that is close to hospitals for families with sick kids.

One such family that is staying at the Chicago Ronald McDonald House belongs to two-year-old Owen Buell, who is being treated at Lurie Children’s Hospital for Stage four neuroblastoma.

Neuroblastoma is a cancer most often discovered in the small glands on top of the kidneys, known as the adrenal glands. It can develop in the belly, chest, neck, pelvis, and bones.  Children ages five or younger are usually most affected.  Symptoms include fatigue, loss of appetite, and fever. There may be a lump of tissues in the affected area.  It is a deadly and rare cancer with only about between 650 and 700 cases a year in the United States.  It accounts for 12 percent of childhood deaths in the US.

The family had planned on taking their sick baby to Joliet to celebrate his birthday, but were unable to do so because of the violent riot and looting going on.

“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 roughly 30 families staying at the house had also been advised to not attempt to get to the children’s hospital during the riot.

Way to go Mayor Lightfoot!  This child, God forbid, may not see another birthday.

“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 chaos brought on a lot of unnecessary stress for the families that are already dealing with a lot.

“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 take him home for a birthday celebration before his next bout of treatment.

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