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By Sarah Elisabeth Sawyer

Nothing brings people together like a good meal, especially when that meal is Texas barbecue. 

“Everyone loves barbecue,” says Aaron Vogel, owner of Cackle & Oink BBQ along with his wife Andrea. “Barbecue makes people feel better. There’s always a lot to talk about whenever it’s being shared with family and friends.”

Cackle & Oink has served up barbecue to local folks in Sherman—and even Reba McEntire herself—since 2005. But something was on the back of Aaron’s mind for over a decade, a mission he wanted to fulfill after his younger cousin fought and won her battle with cancer 16 years ago. 

When Brooke wasn’t doing well, Aaron traveled to North Carolina to be with family. He met up with his uncle and grandparents at the Ronald McDonald House where they stayed awhile. 

To his surprise, a girls’ roller derby league came out on their skates to bake and serve lasagna and salad for the house guests. The next night, the local American Legion came and served a meal.

“I thought ‘This is really, really cool,” Aaron says. “I felt like there was something similar Cackle & Oink could do as a business.”

But Aaron wasn’t sure who they could serve…until a customer told him about Reba’s Ranch House.

“When I heard about Reba’s and how close it was, I said, ‘Okay, now’s my time to go contact them,’” Aaron says. “Now, every other Saturday we do box lunches for the ranch house. Sometimes brisket, sometimes pulled pork. If guests have to be at the hospital, the food is in the fridge for them to warm up and eat at their convenience.”

Aaron knows the guests at the ranch house are going through hard times like his family did when Brooke was in the hospital. He wants to make sure they get a good meal, plus barbecue gives the guests something to talk about when they gather around a table at the ranch house kitchen.

“Barbecue brings people together,” Aaron says. “And we put our heart and soul into everything, like the volunteers at the Ronald McDonald House did for us. Whenever you’re cooking for other people, you want to make sure it’s the best you can do.”

Delivering barbecue to the ranch house is just one way Cackle & Oink serves others. For the past five years, they’ve participated in “Hogs for the Cause” in New Orleans to raise funds for those families affected directly by pediatric brain cancer. 

Other fundraisers and cook-off competitions have landed them on the Food Network, a feature on America’s Best Restaurants on YouTube, and the local Fox News station and radio.

“I’m just a cook, but my grandpa told me that I would be very fortunate one day because I love to smile and I love to shake peoples’ hands,” Aaron says. “It’s good to welcome people in.” 

That welcoming spirit enters the ranch house every time Cackle & Oink brings barbecue for the guests.

“I remember what it was like when Brooke was in the hospital,” Aaron says. “I didn’t feel like eating, I didn’t feel like ‘peopling.’ But it was really nice what the volunteers did. That’s the joy I want to bring to Reba’s Ranch House.”

By Sarah Elisabeth Sawyer

The first night Morgan Dworshak’s grandfather was in the hospital, she worried about where her grandmother would stay. The family booked a hotel at $200 per night. 

Not knowing how long she’d need lodging, Morgan asked her mother where Granny would stay after that first night. Morgan could offer her own home where she was living in Denison, but her grandmother wanted to be as close as possible to her husband of nearly 60 years.

The nurses at the hospital had a suggestion, and Morgan’s mother shared it with her.

“Reba has a house by the hospital,” her mom said.

Shocked, Morgan asked, “The Reba? Reba McEntire?”

Morgan searched the internet for Reba’s Ranch House and was stunned.

“It was a big surprise, and definitely a blessing,” Morgan said.

When she visited the hospital during her grandmother’s two week stay, Morgan always saw her with a snack and bottle of water in hand. Morgan knew the ranch house staff was making sure her grandmother ate, drank water, and felt safe in the house. 

“We knew she was in great hands, whether it was someone to talk to in the hallway or just the staff there taking care of her,” Morgan said. “We didn’t have to worry about her driving back and forth, and all the things.”

This summer during a meeting at Morgan’s employment, Snellings Law, Scott Snelling brought up their monthly service project. Morgan had the perfect suggestion.

“We know the importance of having good care for the injury victim,” Scott said. “But so often the family of the injury victim goes unnoticed and uncared for. Reba’s fills that need and it really spoke to us. I wish there was a Reba’s next to every hospital in every state of the United States. These families go and sleep in these terrible chairs or couches because they just want to be close to their loved ones. To have a place to go where they can get cleaned up and feel safe and get something to snack on or something to drink, is so incredibly important. And Reba’s helped out one of our own.”

After the meeting, Morgan contacted the ranch house and obtained a list of current needs. One was a request for mini refrigerators for the NICU moms who pump breast milk while staying at the ranch house. Snellings Law provided those and Morgan shared that they were rewarded with a tour of the ranch house. 

“I didn’t get to visit the actual facility while my grandmother was staying there,” Morgan said. “I was lucky enough to go on that tour with Marilyn. She also showed us the Room for Hope. My grandma is a breast cancer survivor. I walked into that room and teared up. I thought, this ranch house is something else, to go above and beyond for people in need, to make people feel so cared for in the most difficult times. They need a place to stay. They need a meal. Reba’s literally does everything.”

Morgan knows her grandfather is looking down on them now, grateful his wife was taken in at the ranch house. 

“He wanted to make sure she was taken care of no matter what,” Morgan said. “I know he would have been so thankful that she had somewhere to go and it wasn’t even a minute from the hospital.”

Scott said, “Reba’s got a big name and I can’t think of a better facility for it to be attached to.”

You can join Snellings Law in making a donation to offer caregivers a place to stay and a staff to look after them. 

Donate here.

By Sarah Elisabeth Sawyer

Dr. Matter and staff

When a patient comes to Dr. Greg Matter for heart surgery, they can look out the window to see Reba’s Ranch House where their caregiver is housed. The close proximity is vital for his patients during their recovery time in ICU.

“When patients are in the hospital, it really helps to have family around,” Dr. Matter says. “They are extra eyes and ears. I’ll walk in the room and they say, ‘Dr. Matter, did you resume his synthroid?’ It’s good to have family there during your critical hospital stay.”

For 18 years, Dr. Matter practiced at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas, performing 250 high-risk heart surgeries per year—all while fighting the daily commute and fast-paced lifestyle in the Metroplex. 

“In Dallas, I had a list of pros and cons—reasons to stay and reasons to go,” Dr. Matter laughed. “I was sitting on the tollway one day and I wasn’t moving in the traffic. I thought, ‘Wait a second, I don’t have to be here. I can be wherever I want to be.’”

Dr. Matter moved to Paris, Texas for a time before transitioning to the Texoma hospital. One of his greatest concerns, as it had been even in Dallas, was his patients and their families bearing the cost of traveling in and staying for their surgery. From pre-op to post-surgery and recovery time, the process typically takes 3-5 days. 

Gas costs are a burden on his patients who would normally have to drive in for pre-op the day before, drive home, then return for their surgery early the next morning. If family comes with them, which he highly recommends, the added cost of a hotel for several nights is too much. 

Plus, when a patient has to travel to their surgery appointment at 5:30 am, it’s not a good start to their journey. They come in stressed from the drive and the worry of running into issues, such as a flat tire. 

Reba’s Ranch House and what it offers free of charge—and more of a home than hotel—is now the perfect solution for Dr. Matter’s patients and families.

“At the hospital, someone told me the families could stay at Reba’s Ranch House and their stay is covered by donations,” Dr. Matter remembers. “It became a major plus to tell my patients coming in from Midland and Lubbock and Paris and Broken Bow—all over—that they could stay there at no cost.”

Dr. Matter’s office contacts the ranch house in advance and ensures there will be a room ready and waiting for his patient’s family the day before the surgery. They can come in for pre-op the day before, then literally walk over for the surgery the next morning. It’s closer than where the nurses park and walk in.

Their family is within that same walking distance to watch over them during their recovery. Unlike in Dallas, they don’t even need to pay for parking.

With the ranch house, Dr. Matter and his patients have the best of the slower country pace and the benefit of Reba’s Ranch House while he helps people get well. 

“Having the ranch house for my heart patients is just spectacular,” Dr. Matter says. “All my patients and their families love it.”

By Sarah Elisabeth Sawyer

Parents shouldn’t have to think about gas money when their newborn baby is in intensive care.

That is one of the driving factors behind the Millennium Medical Group’s partnership with Reba’s Ranch House. The group owns and manages multiple Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICU) throughout Texas, New Mexico, and Georgia. They are a national practice of Neonatologists—Pediatric Specialists that take care of newborn babies with extra needs. 

Many of the families the Millennium Medical Group works with struggle with transportation issues. Some live hours away. For those who are even a 10 minutes drive, it can feel like an eternity when they’re separated from their baby.

“It’s hard enough having your baby be sick and not being in your room, much less having a baby that has to be transferred to another facility miles away,” says Dr. Snehal Doshi, CEO of the Millennium Medical Group. “As a parent, I couldn’t imagine my wife in one hospital and my baby in another.”

The unique benefit of the NICU at the Texoma Medical Center (TMC) is its close proximity to Reba’s Ranch House. Sometimes babies are transferred to TMC specifically because the parents can stay close to their babies during the long duration of their stay in the NICU. 

“We don’t think about it but let’s say Mom and Dad have one car, maybe an old truck, and they’re driving 30-40 minutes every day to visit their baby,” Dr. Doshi says.  “A lot of our families don’t have that cash to say, ‘I need to spend $20 to go see my baby.’ In today’s world, we shouldn’t have to think like that. So having a mom stay at the ranch house a few days to take that burden away helps them.”

Close proximity is also vital to the health of the mother and baby. Studies have shown that keeping the mother close to her baby reduces the chance of postpartum depression, lessens recovery time, and helps the new mom’s milk supply come in. 

A special guest room at the ranch house is set up for mothers. There is a rocking chair and everything she needs to pump milk, including a small fridge to safely store it. Shower, laundry facility, food in the main kitchen…parents can feel at home and have peace of mind while they look after their newborn during the intense time.

While physicians focus on the health of the baby—some as tiny as one pound—the ranch house takes care of the health of the parents. 

Dr. Doshi says, “We as physicians are so focused on treating the disease and that’s great. But you have to look at the whole patient and the whole family, because when you’re taking care of a baby, you’re also taking care of a family. Reba’s Ranch House provides that extra layer of support.”

“These partnerships are such a vital part of the work we do at Reba’s Ranch House,” says Michelle Lemming, CEO of the Texoma Health Foundation. “Organizations like Millennium Medical Group are the reason that 100% of guests at Reba’s Ranch House reported a positive impact on their physical, emotional, and spiritual wellbeing.”

Mother and son, now three, visit the ranch house every year on his birthday. The mother stayed several weeks at the ranch house while her baby was in the NICU.

By Sarah Elisabeth Sawyer

Not sleeping. Not eating, not drinking water. Stressed.

These were the top things Marilyn Bice and the staff at Reba’s Ranch House observed happening with caregivers whose loved one was suddenly in the hospital. 

In researching ways to better care for caregivers, Marilyn made a startling discovery—three things that make human brains stop working: No sleep. Dehydration. Stress. 

The caregiver guests at the ranch house were faced not only with the emotional stress, but the physical inability to hear what doctors and nurses tried to tell them. They might be required to make hard decisions and literally lack the brain function to do it.

A guest room at the ranch house is the first step to remedying their condition. In the comfortable, private rooms with beds covered in handmade quilts, caregivers get peaceful sleep each night. 

The second step is making sure the caregiver has something to eat. In addition to the ranch house kitchen and meals provided by churches on a regular basis, a hutch is situated near the lobby door, loaded with a wide variety of snack options. There’s even fresh fruit at times, along with bags to pack with the snacks and bottled water. 

Marilyn calls these “hospital bags,” a small but brain-saving tote for caregivers who are facing a medical crisis.

The third step is reducing the mental stress of the caregiver.

“Nowadays, we know so much more that pertains to different aspects of mental health,” Marilyn says. “It’s just amazing that in three days, there are so many things that go through your mind of, ‘Who do I need to call, what do I need to do?’ It’s crazy what all happens.”

Exhausted and drained, caregivers often arrive late at night for their room at the ranch house. Marilyn encourages the staff to greet guests with a compassionate smile and ask how their patient is doing. Sometimes this opens up time for friend-like counseling, where the caregiver is able to talk through the situation. 

While staff doesn’t offer specific advice on making decisions, they ask questions like, “Do you think it’s time to call in another family member?”

They can also connect caregivers with a chaplain who can recommend further help, such as a therapist. 

“When they have someone they can go to in addition to their medical personnel or advisors, it gives them more confidence in the decisions they have to make,” Marilyn says.

As caregivers of the caregivers, Reba’s Ranch House will continue to expand on ways to care for the physical, emotional, and mental health of caregivers who seek refuge here.

You can join us by making a one-time or ongoing donation now.

Ginger Nye (THF board member), Fancy, and Mitch

By Sarah Elisabeth Sawyer 

When a guest returned from the hospital one morning after seeing her ill husband, Mitch Gray noticed how distressed she was. He was working the front desk and asked if there was anything he could do for her.

She replied, “Would you get that dog and meet me in the kitchen?”

“That dog” is Fancy, the blue heeler resident at Reba‘s Ranch House. Fancy was napping in Mitch’s room at the time. The woman lived on a ranch and had bonded with the dog the evening before when Mitch and Fancy met her during their nightly rounds.

Mitch brought Fancy to the kitchen where they sat with the guest. She told Mitch about her hard news while stroking Fancy’s head. 

When Mitch went to work full-time at the ranch house as night manager, the foundation had been having conversations about the possibility of a “house dog” that could bring some comfort and love to guests during trying times.

The perfect fit came when former ranch house volunteer Cameron Bates contacted Mitch. Moving into new realms with his professional career, Cameron needed to re-home his beloved blue heeler, named after a hit song by Reba–Cameron‘s favorite singer. 

Fancy went to live with Mitch in her “retirement home,” going from a country dog to the city. But Fancy is still a working dog with important jobs to do.

“She opens the house up every morning with me, and closes it up every evening,” Mitch says. “She knows every door in the building.”

In addition to comforting people in their time of grief and stress, Fancy accompanies Mitch constantly in the 27,000-square-foot house and two acres of property. Mitch mans the front desk Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, and handles deliveries, errands, pickups, manages building inspectors, and changes lightbulbs.

Always, Fancy is by his side. They keep a respectful distance from guests until they are invited over, knowing that not everyone loves dogs. They are also mindful of those guests with allergies. Just about everyone who meets Fancy loves her.

“We’ll water the flowers every morning, feed the birds, open the doors for the trash pick up,” Mitch says. “At night, we walk around the inside and outside of the building.  Everything I do on this property, she’s right behind me.”

Coming from the stressful corporate world, Mitch was looking for a non-traditional, non-8-to-5 job. Several years ago, Mitch started the Room for Hope Golf Tournament, an annual fundraising endeavor. After part-time work at the ranch house, he accepted the full-time position in September 2022. 

“As long as I do my job in taking care of the building and taking care of the ladies who work here, I don’t have someone setting my schedule,” Mitch says. “That’s worth money to me.”

Knowing that Mitch and Fancy are here for families every night at the ranch house gives guests a settled and safe feeling, not to mention the comfort they bring. The pair serve as caregivers of caregivers.