Molly Sharkey was 12 years old when she was diagnosed with leukemia. She and her family traveled across the country seeking treatment at a time when options were limited, finding support in temporary housing for families of patients.
That experience inspired Sharkey to dream of creating a similar place in Stuart, said Sarah Siebritz, director of community relations for Molly's House.
"Her family spent a lot of time in these temporary homes, many times in a Ronald McDonald House. And the family really benefited from those accommodations. And so here in Stuart, they realized there was that need, there was the gap," Siebritz said. "She decided that this is what her legacy would be. This is what Stuart needs, and this is what she wanted to bring to the town."
Sharkey died at 18, before the house she envisioned could be built. Her family had acquired the land, and the community eventually helped turn her idea into a reality.
"Unfortunately, she never got to see it come to fruition. Her family had acquired the land before she had passed away, but she did pass away at the age of 18 before the house was built. The community and her family made sure that the dream lived on. And here we are now, 30 years later, and have served countless families," Siebritz said.
Molly's House opened 30 years ago and has provided lodging for patients and their families while they receive medical treatment in the area.
For some guests, having a place to stay nearby can determine whether they are able to pursue treatment away from home, Siebritz said.
"Many of the people we have that stay here say to us that they would not have the opportunity to get this treatment, whatever that treatment is, if they did not have accommodations nearby, which is that gap that we've built," she said. "So to have people come back and say, you've changed my life, or you've extended my life, or you've improved it in this way, I never thought I could accomplish this. That is truly special."
Changes in medical care over the past three decades have also changed how guests use the house. Hospital stays have become shorter, but patients may still need to travel for treatments that do not require an overnight hospital stay.
"The hospital stays are so much shorter, but people still need access to these treatments that are many times outpatient. You go in and out the same day. So we have a lot of patients staying with us, so they can be near to their doctors and near to their treatments, even though they're not staying in the hospital anymore," Siebritz said.
Molly's House is now looking beyond lodging as it continues to develop the property. The organization is planning outdoor additions intended to give families more opportunities to spend time together during their stays.
"What we're really excited about now is because we have established the house so well now, we want to start working on some of the supplementary things for the guests," Siebritz said. "We are and looking forward to putting up some pavilion type structures and putting in an outdoor kitchen and just spaces where the families don't have to feel that they're contained in an environment, where they can go out and have family time in a, quote unquote, semi-normal way that they would if they weren't in these treatment situations."
Molly's House marked its 30th anniversary Sept. 21 with an open house, which also fell on Sharkey's birthday. Community members, medical and business representatives and members of Sharkey's family attended the event, according to the organization.
The open house was the first of several events planned to mark the anniversary. Molly's House will hold its Dreams Gala: A Celebration of Molly's Dream on Nov. 7 at Hutchinson Shores Resort & Spa.