Fan gets special visit from NFL team wives
JAYCIE CHESSER
NEWS-SUN
Jesse Gonzalez is just your average fifth grader. He has a favorite color, which is red. His favorite sport is football and his favorite team is
the Arizona Cardinals.
But Jesse, 10, of Hobbs, is also unique. He was born with a disorder called spina bifida, a birth defect caused by the incomplete closing of
his spinal column, resulting in the use of a wheelchair to transport himself
around.
In late 2012 Jesse was visiting his regular hospital, The Phoenix Children’s
Hospital in Phoenix, Ariz., with his mother, Diana Rojo, for a
treatment when something extraordinary happened.
“We always stayed at the Ronald McDonald house in Phoenix when we went
for Jesse’s doctors appointments,” Diana said. “During downtime in the
football season, some of the Arizona Cardinals players came to visit the
children.”
A Ronald McDonald House is a home-away-from-home for families so they
can stay close to their hospitalized child at little or no cost.
“I was so excited when I saw them,” Jesse said. “I didn’t know who they were
at first but now I do because they are my friends.”
After that meeting, Jesse and his mother kept in close contact with Valerie
Slowik, the wife of defensive assistant coach Ryan Slowik and Dreama
Graves, the wife of Rod Graves, the team’s former general manager.
In November of last year, Diana learned that she and Jesse qualified to have a
house built for them by Habitat for Humanity. The family
is expected to get the keys to the house on April 17.
Habitat for Humanity is a nonprofit, Christian ministry that travels the country
building homes in different communities for people in need.
Dreama Graves, wife of a former Arizona
Cardinal general manager (left), Diana
Rojo, Jesse’s mother (center), Valerie
Slowick, an Arizona Cardinals coach’s wife
(right), and Jesse Gonzalez (front) pose
with volunteers from Habitat for Humanity
as Jesse holds up his personalized jersey.
“In order to get in one of these houses, the homeowner has to participate in 350 hours of community service through either working on
their house or neighboring houses,” Paul Campbell, president of Habitat for Humanity, said. “It’s not a hand out, it’s a hand up.”
On Saturday, Jesse and his mother got a special visit from their Arizona Cardinals friends, as Valerie and Dreama took a trip to Hobbs to
help Jesse deck out his new room in Arizona Cardinals’ memorabilia.
“We have access to a few things being there,” Valerie said. “We brought the jersey and some other goodies to decorate his room and
some other special stuff that no one else has.”
Jesse received his very own Arizona Cardinals jersey with his last name printed on the back. “I am also getting a fathead Cardinal for my
wall, a Cardinals chair and a Cardinals bedspread,” Jesse said. “I even picked to have my room painted Cardinal red.”
After spending five months building their house, Jesse and Diana said they have learned to appreciate it more because of all the hard
work spent putting into it.
“I always knew I was going to have a house,” Jesse said. “I helped to paint it myself.”
Dreama, who said Diana kept her up to date on the building, could not be more happy for the family.
“They have to have 350 hours of service and Diana probably has over 1,000,” Dreama said. “It is so personal to get to see through
pictures their house coming along.”
Jesse and his mother will be the sole occupants of their new three-bedroom house. “I want to make the third bedroom into a man
cave or arcade room,” Jesse said.
The house was built to be more accessible to Jesse, with a big bathtub in his bathroom and wide hallways for his wheelchair to access.
“I work three hours in the afternoon then take care of Jesse the rest of the day,” Diana said. “This blessing really makes you learn how to
appreciate everything.”
As soon as the family is settled into their new home, they hope to take a trip to Phoenix to watch the Cardinals play. “I am going to have
a TV in my new room so I can watch the games,” Jesse said. “But I want to go to a game and wear my new jersey.”
Jaycie Chesser can be reached at 391-5436 or at
[email protected].
Key Ceremony was April 17, 2014
Rojo Family and Maddox Visit
Phoenix Cardinals Give Helping Hand in Jesse’s room
2919 N Montgomery - Jesse painting his room.