McDonald House, day spa team up to treat mothers

By Julie Hutchinson, Special to the Rocky

Monday, May 12, 2008

For a group of young mothers who spend their days at the bedside of their critically ill children, Sunday was a respite.

Owners and staff of the Urban Escape Day Spa in Golden moved their operation to the Ronald McDonald House at 1300 E. 21st Ave. for Mother's Day.

Adriana Jiminez, a 27-year-old mother from Glenwood Springs, enjoyed a facial. Her infant daughter, Adriana, is being treated for a lung infection at Presbyterian/St. Luke's Medical Center.

The relaxing spa treatment was a welcome break from worrying about when the baby's breathing tube will be removed, Jiminez said. She lived at the Ronald McDonald house for nine months last year after her daughter was born prematurely.

The Ronald McDonald House provides a place to stay for out- of-town families of ill children being treated at Denver-area hospitals.

Rachel Brumlow, a 22-year- old mom from Hot Springs, S.D., was relaxing on a massage table as she matter-of-factly explained that her 3-year-old son, Brandon, was being treated at Children's Hospital for leukemia. She said his chemotherapy will extend, off and on, for three more years.

Brandon was diagnosed in February, Brumlow said, and the days since have been a whirlwind, making the spa session all the more precious.

For Brumlow, every day is Mother's Day now.

"He doesn't have to give me a card," she said of Brandon. "I know he loves me because he shows it every day. He's a doll."

Ronald McDonald House manager Taylor Vitale said the spa treatments provided a much- needed respite for the mothers.

"We try to make it as much like a home and as far away from a hotel as possible," Vitale said.