Massachusetts

Puerto Rican Family in Need of Care for Baby Stay With Brookline Family

A family from Puerto Rico was desperate to escape the island after Hurricane Maria destroyed their home. Their 14-month-old daughter, who has a heart condition, was in need of medical care.

Through a translator, Alianette Andino said her daughter, Amaia, "was very, very sick. She had a high fever and was completely dehydrated. Her condition was deteriorating daily."

While Amaia was in the hospital in Puerto Rico after the hurricane, her dad, Kelvin Garcia, was frantically searching for help.

"I was desperate," he said through a translator. "I started looking for all the resources online and found a doctor at Boston Children's Hospital."

But Amaia's family would not have been able to afford a long stay in Boston for her treatments. Her parents say they were fortunate enough to find information about Hospitality Homes. The organization matches families in town for hospital treatments with host families, and that's how Amaia's family met Jeff Lindy, his wife, Gwen Taylor, and their two boys.

The Taylor-Lindys opened up their home to Amaia and her family.

"It would seems weird to me to have all we have and not try and let other people benefit from it," said Taylor.

Lindy adds that hosting families is a good way to teach their boys about the world.

"I think it lets them know not everyone in the world talks like them, has the same things they have, or have the same experiences they have," he said. "I hope it opens their horizons at an early age to lots of different people and different experiences from all over."

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