Ronald McDonald House Southern New Jersey Gives Yadriel Gonzalez-Siebens Sense Of Home As He Battles AMC
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- This Thursday, CBS3 will present our 12th annual Ronald McDonald House Charities telethon. We call it "Give a Little Love," and we'll be raising money to help the four Ronald McDonald houses in the area.
You're about to meet a little boy who doesn't let his condition slow him down. In fact, he wants to be an Olympian one day.
To say that 7-year-old Yadriel Gonzalez-Siebens is a boy of many talents would be an understatement.
He's well versed in toys and superheroes.
"I love Iron Man," Yadriel said.
He hosts his own YouTube channel -- that's his sister, Valentina, by the way, making a guest appearance -- and like many kids, he plays sports, like soccer and basketball.
He's even been recognized by the Puerto Rico Wheelchair Basketball Federation...
"I am the first kid accepted in Puerto Rico for basketball," Yadriel said.
Yadriel has his sights set on winning Olympic gold -- but not in basketball.
"My dream, dream, dream sports from the Olympics is, archery," Yadriel said.
But for the time being, Olympic gold will have to wait as he faces a more immediate challenge.
You see, Yadriel has arthrogryposis multiplex congenita -- often referred to as AMC for short. It's when the range of joints are limited, unable to fully or partially extend or bend.
Since the age of 2, he's been treated at Shriners Hospital for Children in Philadelphia, far from his home in Puerto Rico. So, that's where the Ronald McDonald House in Camden comes in.
"This trip is only for one week," Yadriel's mother, Yalette Gonzalez-Siebens, said. "But for surgery, we have longer stays."
The Ronald McDonald House has become his family's home away from home, where his mother, father, Jose, and little sister can find a sense of normalcy.
Their first visit to our area for medical treatment lasted seven months and the Ronald McDonald House was there for them the whole time.
Yadriel is now such a familiar face that his picture is featured prominently on the Ronald McDonald House wall.
The house offers the family the ability to do many things that a hotel just couldn't, like enjoying a home-cooked meal.
"Here is like our second family, because we have an opportunity to cook, I can do the Puerto Rican cook here," Yalette said.
But for Yadriel, it's all about his friends.
"I like coming here because there's lots of kids, I can play with them," he said.
"He says, 'Oh Mom, I'm not the only one.' In Puerto Rico, it's only three kids that he knows who has arthrogryposis. Here in the hospital and her at Ronald McDonald House, he met a lot of children with arthrogryposis," Yalette said.
Yadriel can sum it up quite simply.
"I love Ronald McDonald House so much," Yadriel said.
Our "Give a Little Love" telethon is this Thursday from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. right here on CBS3.