Helping a Military Family In Need

First Lieutenant Doug Kapule was on a military plane flying home to Fayetteville when he got the news. He was returning from a 14-month deployment in Iraq and looking forward to being home again with his wife, Amanda and their three children. Instead of a joyful reunion, he was met by the Red Cross team to tell him there was an emergency at home.

The Kapules' daughter, nine-year-old Iolani, had been diagnosed with a brain tumor, and she needed to be admitted to Duke Hospital immediately. For their family, it was the beginning of a whirlwind of activity that changed their lives forever.

The Kapules had never heard of the Ronald McDonald House of Durham - a home away from home for families of seriously-ill children needing treatment at nearby hospitals. It was a literal lifesaver: in the first two weeks of Iolani's radiation treatments, the Kapule family racked up nearly $2000 in hotel, gas and food costs alone as their family of five slept and ate in between hospital visits, doctor consultations and coordination of their oldest son's elementary school attendance back in Fayetteville, N.C.

When they arrived at the House, it became more than a hotel: the emotional support of other families dealing with similar situations, staff and volunteers to provide activities for the kids and meals for the family, as well as transportation to and from the hospital, touched the Kapule family in ways they never imagined.

Doug says they are a proud, hardworking family and that accepting help from others through this experience has "reaffirmed our faith in humanity." There is hope in the Kapule home: Iolani received her last treatments and was released from the hospital just in time to celebrate Christmas at home.