Gabriel Peterson was first flown to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia when he was 8 days old.
Since then, his mother Jessica Allen says she's taken him at least once a year for his complex congenital heart defects. He's 10 now, and during their hospital stays he plays video games and air hockey with friends he's made at the Ronald McDonald House, where families of sick kids can stay during treatments.
They've spent several holidays there, including Easter in 2020, Allen says. This year, they're hoping to head home on Christmas Eve. Allen is keeping her fingers crossed.
In the meantime, Allen and Gabriel have a cozy place to call home. This year, as part of a larger partnership between Ronald McDonald House Global and CVS Health, the Philadelphia house hired local home decorator and influencer Meghan Gallagher. Gallagher spent the first week of December sprucing it up, artfully decorating Christmas trees and doing her best to spread holiday cheer to the house's 150 families.
"I know how hard it is for families to be away from home during the holidays," Gallagher, who lives in Philadelphia, said. "So for me to be able to come in here and bring a little bit of joy into their lives and make them feel a bit of nostalgia ... was really important to me."
