Born Fighting 

Since August 2023, Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) Toronto has been home for Heidi Menard and her son Noah Plouffe — a home they never expected to need for so long, and one they could not live without. 

Noah will turn three on June 22. In those three years, he has endured more than most people face in a lifetime: two kidney removals, countless procedures, and a life sustained by dialysis. Born at 33 weeks with a rare genetic condition called autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease (ARPKD), Noah came into the world with dangerously enlarged kidneys, underdeveloped lungs, and little chance of survival. “I was told he might not make it through the delivery,” Heidi says. “But he cried when he was born. That cry was everything.” 

Originally from Timmins, Ontario, the family’s life was uprooted immediately. Within weeks of Noah’s birth at Sunnybrook Hospital, they were transferred to SickKids — and eventually to RMHC Toronto, where they’ve stayed permanently since last summer. “Our life is on pause,” Heidi says. “This is our reality now. It’s just day by day.” 

A Life-Sustaining Routine 

Noah has no kidneys. He doesn’t pee. Every drop of fluid and every toxin must be removed from his body through dialysis. After cycling through peritoneal dialysis at home — complicated by severe desaturations and lack of abdominal space — Noah was switched to daily hemodialysis in Toronto, a life-saving treatment that requires walking to the hospital four times a week. “He can only go 24 hours without it,” Heidi explains. “It’s his lifeline.” 

Joy in the Everyday 

Despite everything, Noah is joyful. “People look at him and see a happy little boy,” Heidi says. “They don’t see the medical lines or the tubes. He waves to everyone, smiles at the nurses. He’s just… Noah.” In the dialysis unit, at the smoothie shop in SickKids, even at the local Shoppers Drug Mart, people know him by name. 

RMHC Toronto makes that joy possible. 

“I don’t know where we’d be without the House,” says Heidi. “We don’t have family in the city. If RMHC wasn’t here, I’d be in a real pinch trying to manage daily dialysis. This place has truly been our second home.” 

It’s more than the meals or a bed. It’s the community. It’s the quiet solidarity shared between parents in the hallways. It’s the preschool playgroups where Noah, who’s never been to daycare, learns to socialize. It’s the donor-funded dinners where moms trade stories and support, and where someone always remembers your name. 

“I have a group of mom friends now,” Heidi says. “We text, check in, and just know what each other’s going through. There’s something really comforting in that.” 

Waiting for a Transplant 

But the journey is far from over. Noah still doesn’t qualify for a transplant — the vessels in his tiny body are too small to support a new kidney. A friend has offered to be a living donor, but everything is on hold. The wait stretches longer: more growing, more treatments, more worry. “It was a big setback,” Heidi admits. “We were really hoping for transplant this summer. Now they’re saying maybe in nine to twelve months. And that’s not even the transplant — that’s just starting the workup.” 

The Cost of Being Close 

Financially, emotionally, physically — this journey has cost a lot. Justin, Noah’s dad, still works full time in Timmins as a miner. He visits once a month, driving or flying down for long weekends. Heidi manages the medical routine solo: administering medications, managing feeds, and responding to Noah’s near-hourly needs. “I try to stay positive. You have to,” she says. “This is his only life. He doesn’t know anything different. So we try to make it full of joy.” 

But the financial toll is real. “I’m not working. We’re living on one income. Every little bit of support means everything,” she says. 

Like two in three Canadian families, the Plouffes had to leave their home community to access life-saving care for their child. With just 16 children’s hospitals across Canada, families like theirs often have no choice but to temporarily relocate — and in Toronto, that cost can reach $24,500 in just the first month. That’s nearly one-third of the average Ontario family’s annual disposable income — an overwhelming, unplanned expense most families could never prepare for. 

“Between medical supplies that aren’t covered, special formulas, medications, managing the house back home, and all the costs of living in Toronto, it adds up fast,” Heidi says. “It’s been three years of this — and I don’t know how we would have done it without the Ronald McDonald House.” 

A Chance to Just Focus on Noah 

RMHC Toronto helps families stay together and close to the care they need, without the crushing financial stress. “They’ve given us so much — stability, a place to call home, and the chance to just focus on Noah,” Heidi says. “There’s nothing more important than that.” 

Hope for Year Three 

As Noah’s third birthday approaches, Heidi finds herself full of hope — and humility. “People ask how we do it,” she says. “But when you’re in it, you just do. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for my son.” 

She is grateful. To SickKids. To the team at RMHC Toronto. To the donors who keep the doors open and the lights on. “You’ve given us more than a place to stay,” she says. “You’ve given us the chance to be a family through everything.” 

And her wish for Noah’s birthday? “Prayers. Hope. Positive vibes. For his vessels to grow. For his kidney transplant to come. For his organs to stay strong. And one day — for us to go home.”

There are thousands of families like Noah and his parents, Heidi and Justin, living through medical uncertainty with courage and hope. Each one faces the unimaginable. Each one needs a place to stay — and the support of people like you to keep going. 

To help families like theirs stay close to their sick child, or to read more stories of strength and love, click here.