Meet the Hernandez Family

Glenda Hernandez knew her family was going to have a challenging road ahead of them before their youngest, Adriel, was even born. Adriel was diagnosed at 28 weeks’ gestation with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome, a rare heart defect that would require open-heart surgery shortly after birth, with additional surgeries as he got older. 

“We were nervous at first because there were a lot of unknowns,” said Glenda. “We didn’t know if we were going to get a room at the House or not, we weren’t sure how long we would be at Riley.” Thankfully, a day or two after Adriel’s birth, the Hernandez family was able to move into the House. Mom Glenda, Dad Josue, and one-and-a-half-year-old brother Josue Jr. stayed at the House, while older sister, Natalie, stayed up north with relatives because of school. This time, the Hernandez family stayed at the House for four weeks. 

The second stay for the Hernandez Family, in December of 2022, was for a few weeks. “The Ronald McDonald House Holiday Shop was such a blessing for us during that visit,” said Glenda. “We weren’t sure what Christmas would look like because of the unknowns surrounding the hospital stay and how that might impact our income. We hadn’t bought any gifts before we got to Indy, but because of the Holiday Shop, all three of our kids had great gifts. It was so nice to ‘shop’ for our children and distract us from our current situation.”  

A few months later in April of 2023, Adriel went into heart failure. After some time, it was clear that he was going to need a heart transplant, which meant a much longer hospitalization. This time, the Hernandez family stayed for ten months. 

During 2023 and 2024, everyone at the House got to know the Hernandez family very well. Josue, now around four years old, became best friends with Chief Cheer Officer, Mac. “We would often stop at McDonald’s after picking up Natalie from school and Josue would ALWAYS share his fries with Mac.” During Christmas in 2023, big sister, Natalie LOVED the Elf on the Shelf activity staff provided for the kids, hiding an elf in fun and funny places throughout the house. “Natalie looked forward to finding the elf every day.” said Glenda.  

For nearly a year, the Hernandez family called the Ronald McDonald House home, and as Adriel received his heart transplant and grew stronger, the Hernandez family decided to move to Indianapolis to be closer to his care team. “My husband and I don’t have family down here,” said Glenda, “We don’t have a lot of support, and we would not have gotten through without the Ronald McDonald House, the families, the staff at Riley…and all the toys.” 

“Leaving my two-year-old at the hospital to eat or go sleep at the House was always hard, but I would tell him, ‘I’ll be back – I’m going to bring you a surprise.’ I would get a toy from the toy wagon or something else Adriel could look forward to from the House. The Ronald McDonald House really helped us keep our kids’ lives as normal as we could. The House became a second home for us and our kids.” 

Since then, Adriel is doing great! He’s really grown, and the whole Hernandez family has settled down in Indianapolis. Even now, when the Hernandez family comes to visit, Josue looks for Mac and then goes straight to the game room.