In early 2020, Paola Rendon was visiting her family in Hermosillo, Mexico with her two-year-old son, Jose. He loved playing and watching sports, but baseball was his favorite. 

When he started acting out of sorts, Paola became worried. She was working as a nurse and knew something was wrong, so she took him to a pediatrician’s office for a checkup. They gave him some medicine, but he kept getting sicker. The doctor was puzzled. After a particularly bad day, he sent them to a hospital back home in Nogales, Arizona.

They arrived at the hospital in the middle of the night. The doctors in Nogales knew they didn’t have the equipment needed to diagnose Jose, so he was transferred again. This time to Banner Children’s Medical Center in Tucson. Three days later, he was diagnosed with leukemia.

“The first thing I thought about was whether he would survive this,” said Paola through a translator. Jose would need to stay in Tucson for his first round of treatment.

When a social worker learned about their situation, she suggested Paola stay nearby at the Ronald McDonald House. Paola checked in that very same day.

“It was as if we were at home. I felt good knowing that we had a roof over our heads and meals to eat. It was all a big help. All of my focus was on Jose.”

At the House, they found everything they could possibly need. A comfortable bedroom with a private bathroom, kid spaces that were cleaned daily and a kitchen that Paola loved.

But what really made the place feel like home were the people she met.

“I met someone here who also spoke Spanish. It was comforting to talk to them. They were expecting a baby and we became friends. We still talk about everything and how big their baby has gotten.”

And there was another mom who had a ten-year-old son who, like Jose, also loved baseball. Her son had outgrown his collection of baseball caps, so when Jose started to lose his hair as a side effect of chemotherapy, she offered him a few. Jose wore them every day.

Today, Jose is five years old and doing great! He’s in the surveillance phase, which means he has monthly checkups to monitor his blood counts. The appointments will keep getting further apart as he continues to get better.

And thanks to everyone who supports our Ronald McDonald House, Paola and Jose know that they always have a place to call home when they travel to Tucson for his care.