28 Jan A Family’s Decade of Healing and Hope: Local 10 News Spotlights the Valdez Family’s Journey

Posted at 09:25h in Capital Campaign, Families, Media Coverage, Updates by

January 28, 2026 — For over a decade, Julissa Cerda has been bringing her two teenagers, Delilah and Liam, to Miami for extraordinary, life-saving care provided at Holtz Children’s Hospital, and their sanctuary has been RMHC South Florida.

Local 10 News (WPLG) shared a moving feature on the Valdez family and their stay at the  Ronald McDonald House. Their story is a powerful reminder of why our journey to a new house is so urgent.

WATCH THE FULL LOCAL 10 FEATURE HERE 

The Valdez family’s journey led them to Miami’s world-class medical district for treatment unavailable in their hometown in Texas. While the clinical care at our partner hospitals is second to none, the logistical reality of being in a new city for weeks or months at a time is a heavy burden for any parent.

“You’re in a city you don’t know, dealing with the scariest thing a parent can face,” the feature highlighted. For this family, RMHC wasn’t just a room; it was a sanctuary. It was a hot meal after a 12-hour day at the hospital. It was a community of other parents who “just get it.”

As we move toward the 2027 opening of our new 54-room House at Jackson Memorial, we often talk about numbers: 60,000 square feet, $33 million, and 23 additional rooms.

But the most important number is 128.

That is the number of families we had to turn away last year because our current 31-room House is always full. The new House, under construction at Jackson Memorial Medical Center, is designed to ensure that more mothers like Julissa have a “home-away-from-home” while their child receives life-saving treatment.

How You Can Help

As we celebrate this feature and the resilience of the families we serve, we invite you to be a part of the next chapter:

  • Follow the Build: Watch our Live Construction Feed on our Capital Campaign homepage to see the new House taking shape.
  • Invest in the Journey: Help us close the final funding gap by donating to the Capital Campaign.

Together, we are building a legacy of hope in South Florida.

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