Family returns favor; offers place to rest

When Halle Arenholz was declared cancer-free earlier this year, she got a new bike to help her celebrate.

Halle is 6 years old. Her sparkly pink helmet, complete with cat ears, covers curly brown hair. That's a big deal. It wasn't that long ago that she was bald, a side effect of the chemotherapy necessary to treat her leukemia, which she was diagnosed with when she was three.

On Thursday, she showed off that helmet to another set of cyclists - members of the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Eastern Iowa and Western Illinois RAGBRAI team. The 18-member team spent the night at the Arenholz house in Waverly after completing the Mason City to Waverly portion of the statewide bike ride.

Hosting the riders was the least she could do, Halle's mom Teresa Arenholz said. After all, the Ronald McDonald House hosted her and her family many times over the two-and-a-half years Halle was receiving treatments at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City. The 31-room Ronald McDonald House offers a place to stay for families of children receiving treatment at the hospital.

'Just knowing it was down the street and we could stay there was such a comfort,” Arenholz said.

The RAGBRAI team members, including staff, volunteers and others who have a connection with the Ronald McDonald House, are riding to raise money and awareness for the non-profit. Development director and team coordinator Carson Eggland said it's also a chance for staff and volunteers to reconnect with families like Halle's, who often live in the small towns RAGBRAI passes through.

'Working at the Ronald McDonald House, you get to really know a lot of these families,” he said.

Arenholz and her family stayed at the Iowa City Ronald McDonald House about 20 times when Halle was hospitalized for fevers, infections or treatment. Staying there meant they didn't have to worry about the cost of staying in a hotel. It also meant extended family had a place to go when visiting hours were over, and it meant Arenholz had a retreat from the hospital, where she could de-stress when she needed to.

Arenholz knows the value of a place to rest, shower and a good meal.

Offering that to the Ronald McDonald House RAGBRAI team in return, she said, 'was an honor.”

'When you're in crisis, they're comforting,” she said. 'They truly become part of your family.”

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