The Blanco-Valera Family
Three weeks may not seem like a long time, but for Moises and Katerine Blanco-Valera and their daughters, Kariannys and Alice, it felt like a lifetime. Their world turned upside down in early January when nearly 3-year-old Alice began showing alarming symptoms: she wasn’t eating, and her ability to walk and speak suddenly declined.
The family made multiple trips to urgent care and a nearby emergency room in Lucedale, Mississippi, each time receiving a different diagnosis before being sent home. It wasn’t until Monday morning, when Moises took Alice to her pediatrician, that they were given clear and urgent instructions: take Alice immediately to USA Health Children’s & Women’s Hospital in Mobile.
“We were so scared,” Katerine recalled. “She had a seizure in the ER. It was a terrible moment for us.”
Alice was admitted to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. For days, Moises and Katerine didn’t leave the hospital, weighed down by fear for their daughter and the pain of separation from 9-year-old Kariannys, who was staying back in Lucedale with their pastor and his wife.
“She loves them, but she needed us,” Moises said. “She had never slept apart from us. Every time we spoke on the phone, she cried.”
Everything changed when the family was welcomed to Ronald McDonald House of Mobile. For the first time since Alice fell ill, they could be together under one roof.
“It was such a dark time,” Moises said. “Alice had this vacant stare, like she wasn’t there. Her arms and legs were completely stiff. One night I tried to give her water, and the lid fell off, water spilled everywhere. She didn’t even react.”
As doctors worked to diagnose and treat Alice for viral encephalitis, the Ronald McDonald House became a place of peace and support for the family.
“It was so special,” Moises said. “We could do laundry, eat real meals, and I even brought food back to the hospital for Katerine.”
“We could sleep well there,” added Kariannys. “And the food was really good!”
Through it all, the family leaned heavily on their faith and community. Moises and Katerine expressed deep gratitude for the care team at Children’s & Women’s Hospital. Their church in Lucedale and extended family in Venezuela surrounded them with prayer, so much so that Kariannys hosted an evening prayer group over WhatsApp for loved ones back home.
Alice was hospitalized on her third birthday, January 6, with her terrified parents by her side. Just over two weeks later, the day before the historic snowstorm rolled through the area, the family was finally able to return home. Though Alice was still moving and speaking slowly, today she is a joyful, energetic child with no signs of the ordeal she survived.
Their pastor may have said it best:
“Unless you need it, you don’t know how much you appreciate it.” ▪︎
