At Ronald McDonald House New York (RMH-NY), we are constantly reminded that love truly has a way of growing on people. For Joseph and Rosa Luna, this love took root years ago, during some of the most challenging times of their lives.

At NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), where every beep from a machine holds weight, and each medical update tugs at the heartstrings of worried parents, one new mother, Natalie found herself navigating an emotional whirlwind. Her son, Marcellus, had been born prematurely and was fighting for his life. Caught in a storm of uncertainty and hope, Natalie discovered an unexpected sanctuary that would become her refuge—the Ronald McDonald Family Room at Elmhurst.

Emanuel and his family’s journey through pediatric cancer brought them face to face with unimaginable challenges including financial fears, family separation, and a cancer plaguing a seven-year-old boy that just seemed to keep growing. Like many other families navigating similar crises, they discovered that the support they needed extended far beyond medical care.

Yet, Abdiel is not your typical two-year-old. The boy’s life has been a constant barrage of doctors, diagnoses and NICU nurses.  Any person who was in a constant cycle of those types of interruptions would not necessarily think of that time as anything other than hard work.

However, Abdiel just calls it playtime.