From Visitor to Volunteer: After eight years of visits to RMH Pasadena while her son received treatment, Angela is now paying forward the same compassion that helped her family through life’s hardest moments.
When Gilberto was 6 years old, he was diagnosed with microcephaly, severe bilateral hearing loss, cerebral palsy, and scoliosis. His mother, Angela, brought him to doctor after doctor, searching for any specialist in Mexico that would treat her son. But time after time, Gilberto was denied treatment. Determined, Angela made the difficult decision to leave home and seek treatment in Pasadena, California.
The journey was filled with uncertainty.
“We come to a different country. We don't know where we are going to sleep or what we are going to eat. We don't know if the treatment is going to work,” Angela recalls. “I had so many doubts, so many questions, so many fears for my child.”
Far from their family, their language, and everything familiar, Angela carried the weight of those concerns while trying to remain strong for Gilberto. Then they were referred to Ronald McDonald House Pasadena.
For Angela, it felt like an answer to a prayer.
“It was a great blessing,” she says. “To see that we arrived at a place where they welcome us, feed us, give us a bed to rest in, and treat us so kindly.”
Now, Gilberto is 14 years old. After eight years of finding comfort and support at Ronald McDonald House Pasadena, Angela and Gilberto made Pasadena their permanent home so he could continue receiving the specialized care he needs at Shriners Children's. Although they no longer stay at the House, they continue to return for events, activities, and the community that first welcomed them when they needed it most.
The House that once carried Angela through some of her family's hardest days has become a place she now helps carry forward for others. As a dedicated volunteer, she welcomes new families with the same kindness, compassion, and reassurance that gave her hope years ago. Her journey has come full circle: transforming fear into purpose, ensuring that every family who walks through the House's doors knows they are not alone.
