Watch this moving story
When Brianna and Adam Nuñez left the hospital with their newborn son Mateo in August 2021, they were as prepared as any first-time parents could be. The car seat was installed, the nursery was ready, and they were fully stocked with diapers. But just weeks later, their lives were upended.
At just 11 weeks old, Mateo stopped breathing in Brianna’s arms. An X-ray in the local emergency room revealed the cause: a massive tumor in Mateo’s chest, 8 centimeters wide, pressing against his lungs, heart, and airway. He was diagnosed with neuroblastoma—a rare and aggressive childhood cancer. After two weeks in the ICU with no improvement, doctors transferred Mateo to NewYork- Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital.
Today, he’s four years old and thriving. He loves basketball, trucks, baking cookies with his mom, and everything about Christmas.
Thanks to the generosity of supporters like you, NewYork-Presbyterian is able to support patients like Mateo and their families across each stage of childhood and adolescence, carry out innovative research and clinical trials that improve quality of life and survival rates for pediatric diseases, and so much more.