NewsRadio Savannah and our sponsors The Dewitt Tilton Group and Primrose Schools introduces you to the McDowell family and their Ronald McDonald House Of The Coastal Empire experience:
Hello, my name is Alexus McDowell, and on May 8th, 2025, my entire world changed.
That was the day my daughter, Olivia, arrived far earlier than anyone ever imagined, just 25 weeks and 5 days into my pregnancy. She weighed one pound, 15 ounces, and stretched only 34 centimeters long. She was impossibly tiny, heartbreakingly fragile… yet somehow full of a strength bigger than all of us.
From the moment she took her first breath, Olivia was a fighter. And in the NICU, we were surrounded by heroes, doctors, and nurses who poured everything they had into giving our daughter a chance. One nurse in particular, our “Aunt Jesse,” became family. She held our hands, wiped our tears, and reminded us every single day that hope was still alive.
We spent 104 days in Savannah, living moment to moment, praying for the next ounce gained, the next stable scan, the next miracle. And through all of it, the Ronald McDonald House stood beside us.
They didn’t just open their doors; they opened their hearts.
Billy, Lizzy, and the entire team checked on us every day like we were their own. They fed us when we forgot to eat. They comforted us when we were barely holding it together. They gave us a warm bed, a safe place, and something we desperately needed but didn’t know how to ask for: a sense of home in the hardest season of our lives.
The Ronald McDonald House didn’t just give us a place to stay.
They made sure we never walked this journey alone.
After months of uncertainty, fear, and unshakable faith, our miracle girl came home. Olivia remained on oxygen for a short time, then was cleared. Today, she’s a thriving, smiling, seven-month-old blessing who lights up every room she’s in. She is living proof that miracles don’t just happen… they are cared for, protected, and lifted up by incredible people.
We are forever grateful to every single person at the Ronald McDonald House who wrapped us in love during the darkest chapter of our lives. We pray for them often. And we pray for every family walking through the NICU doors, facing the same fears we once lived.
Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts, for taking care of us when we needed it most. You will forever hold a special place in our lives, and in Olivia’s story.
How to help:
⏰ Accepting monetary donations between Now - December 15th, 2025
📍 Please deliver all cash, check, and gift card donations directly to iHeartMedia Savannah, 245 Alfred Street Savannah, GA 31408
💳Forms of donations accepted:
- Click here to make an online donation to the RMH. Add "Shop With A Cop" in memo.
- Checks made out to Ronald McDonald House with "Shop With A Cop" in memo.
- Visa, Master Card, AmEx or Target cards.
- Cash
Sponsored by The Dewitt Tilton Group and Express Employment! and Primrose Schools