SDS’s Adopt-A-Room Partnership at Sacramento Ronald McDonald House Supports the Calvillo Family

(Jesús Calvillo pictured in Sierra Donor Services sponsored Room #603 at RMHC)

On December 28, 2021, a short circuit from Christmas lights caused a fire that forever changed the Calvillo family’s life. Jesús was just two years old and suffered burns across more than 75% of his body. His family, based in Michoacán, Mexico, faced a long road ahead that brought them thousands of miles from home to Shriners Hospital for Children in Sacramento. Jesús’ mom, Guadalupe, first arrived at the Sacramento Ronald McDonald House in March 2022 while Jesús began months of surgeries and recovery.

During the early days, Guadalupe (pictured right) and her husband, Ernesto (pictured left), took turns staying at the House because pandemic restrictions prevented them both from being at the hospital.

For the stays that followed, Guadalupe was the one making the 1,800-mile journey to Sacramento with Jesús—sometimes by bus, other times by plane, to continue her son’s medical care and recovery. They have made this journey four times over four years, each time leaving her home and family behind in Mexico, and not knowing exactly how long they would need to be here. On their current stay, Jesús is recovering from surgery on his right hand that lasted four hours. The pain he’s managing with medication is not his focus.

He walks and runs through the hallways, asks staff to help him set up video games in the living room, and lights up explaining how to build a house, craft a bed, and survive the monsters that come out at night in Minecraft—his favorite video game. At six years old, so much of Jesús’ life has included hospital stays and long recoveries far from home.

Sierra Donor Services x Sacramento Ronald McDonald House Adopt-A-Room Partnership

Through its Adopt-A-Room partnership, Sierra Donor Services helps make a sense of comfort possible at the Sacramento Ronald McDonald House. By supporting a dedicated space within the House, Sierra Donor Services ensures families like the Calvillos have a welcoming, restful environment during some of the most challenging times of their lives. It’s a place where caregivers can recharge, where children can simply be children, and where moments of normalcy can exist alongside medical uncertainty.

For Jesús, that means having the space to play, imagine, and just be six years old. For Guadalupe, it means having a safe and supportive place to return to after long days at the hospital. And for families like theirs, it means not facing these journeys alone.

This year, the partnership has already made a meaningful impact, serving families like the Calvillos and reminding us all that healing goes beyond hospital walls.