--- title: "When Hope Arrived: Leonella in San Mateo County" description: “We have learned to be very, very conscious about the way we spend every cent,” says Leonella, a married mom living in California, participating in the San Mateo County Baby Bonus Program, where she receives a direct cash transfer once a month to spend as she chooses best for her and her family. image: https://thepulse.uptogether.org/hubfs/Member-%20UpTogether%20California%20DO%20NOT%20USE%20WITHOUT%20CONSENT%20San%20Mateo%20LEONELLA%20albert%20gael%20ana%20sofia%20IMG_2951.jpeg --- [![UpTogether](https://thepulse.uptogether.org/hs-fs/hubfs/raw_assets/public/UpTogether_May2021/images/Header_logo.png?width=2000&height=168&name=Header_logo.png "UpTogether")](https://www.uptogether.org/) [![UpTogether](https://thepulse.uptogether.org/hs-fs/hubfs/raw_assets/public/UpTogether_May2021/images/Header_small_logo.png?width=2000&height=168&name=Header_small_logo.png "UpTogether")](https://www.uptogether.org/) - [About](https://www.uptogether.org/about/) - [Join the Movement](https://www.uptogether.org/jointhemovement/) - [Contact Us](https://www.uptogether.org/contact/) - [Partner](https://www.uptogether.org/partner-beta/) - [Stories](https://www.uptogether.org/uptogether-stories/) - [Sign in/Sign Up](https://login.uptogether.org/) - [Donate](https://www.uptogether.org/donate/) # The UpTogether Pulse ![Pulse header option 1 (1)-1](https://thepulse.uptogether.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Pulse%20header%20option%201%20(1)-1.png?width=400&height=215&name=Pulse%20header%20option%201%20(1)-1.png) ![](https://thepulse.uptogether.org/hubfs/Member-%20UpTogether%20California%20DO%20NOT%20USE%20WITHOUT%20CONSENT%20San%20Mateo%20LEONELLA%20albert%20gael%20ana%20sofia%20IMG_2951.jpeg) # When Hope Arrived: Leonella in San Mateo County Published by [UpTogether](https://thepulse.uptogether.org/author/uptogether) on Oct 28, 2026, 11:37:42 AM When Leonella learned she was pregnant with Sophia, life was already asking more of her family than they ever imagined. Her 5-year-old son, Gael, had relapsed with cancer.   Play narration of Leonella's story 6:24 As Leonella prepared to welcome a new baby, her husband Albert made the difficult decision to leave his job so he could be with their son through extended hospital stays, treatments, and every uncertain day that followed. "When my son relapsed in March of 2025, that's when I had to stop working," Albert said. For months, life revolved around extended stays in the cancer center at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF). Hospital rooms replaced routines. Treatments replaced plans. Albert remained by Gael's side while Leonella cared for their growing family, balancing pregnancy, raising their 2-year-old daughter, Anna, and sitting with the emotional weight of watching her son endure increasingly difficult treatments. ![Member- UpTogether California DO NOT USE WITHOUT CONSENT San Mateo LEONELLA albert gael ana sofia IMG\_6802](https://thepulse.uptogether.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Member-%20UpTogether%20California%20DO%20NOT%20USE%20WITHOUT%20CONSENT%20San%20Mateo%20LEONELLA%20albert%20gael%20ana%20sofia%20IMG_6802.jpeg?width=760&height=1013&name=Member-%20UpTogether%20California%20DO%20NOT%20USE%20WITHOUT%20CONSENT%20San%20Mateo%20LEONELLA%20albert%20gael%20ana%20sofia%20IMG_6802.jpeg)"It was very hard times," Leonella recalled. "The treatments... he never went into remission. So, the treatments were harder and harder and harder." Leonella tried to remain strong, even while carrying Sophia. "I try to maintain... because I was pregnant," she said. "But there was time when I was... desperate. Really, really hard." The family's financial hardship wasn't caused by poor choices. It was the cost of choosing their son over a paycheck. "To make a long story short, we pretty much are strong believers of zero debt," Albert said. "We manage our funds well." Before Gael relapsed, they had built savings and lived carefully. They leaned on those savings, along with childhood cancer organizations, and the generosity of others, but living for months at the hospital eventually meant living with little or no income. "Since March of 2025, we've practically been living at UCSF," Albert said. Then Sophia arrived. ![Member- UpTogether California DO NOT USE WITHOUT CONSENT San Mateo LEONELLA albert gael ana sofia IMG\_9829](https://thepulse.uptogether.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Member-%20UpTogether%20California%20DO%20NOT%20USE%20WITHOUT%20CONSENT%20San%20Mateo%20LEONELLA%20albert%20gael%20ana%20sofia%20IMG_9829.jpeg?width=3148&height=3010&name=Member-%20UpTogether%20California%20DO%20NOT%20USE%20WITHOUT%20CONSENT%20San%20Mateo%20LEONELLA%20albert%20gael%20ana%20sofia%20IMG_9829.jpeg) Looking back, neither Leonella nor Albert can imagine making it through that season without her. "I don't know what would be of us without having Sophia," Leonella said. But only a short time after she was born, another challenge emerged. Sophia developed severe eczema and allergic reactions. Her skin became inflamed across much of her body. Steroid creams offered temporary relief, but the flare-ups kept returning. Rather than accepting that nothing more could be done, Leonella began investigating on her own. She carefully introduced foods one at a time, tested different formulas, and filled a notebook documenting every reaction. With limited options remaining, they discovered goat milk formula as a solution for Sophia. "She was doing very, very well," Albert said. "Her skin was like, new." The improvement transformed Sophia's quality of life. The challenge, however, was paying for it. The specialized formula wasn't covered by insurance. Traditional assistance programs couldn't provide it. In fact, many of the approved formulas and foods available through food stamps and programs like WIC contained ingredients that triggered the very allergic reactions Leonella was working so hard to eliminate. When one shipment of goat milk formula was delayed for several days, the family had no choice but to switch back to traditional cow's milk… and the flare-ups began again. For Albert and Leonella, the experience reinforced something they already knew: every family's needs are different. Without flexible support, they would have been forced to continue purchasing products that made Sophia's condition worse simply because those were the products required through  traditional assistance. The monthly payments she received through the San Mateo County Baby Bonus Program were unrestricted, which meant Leonella had the freedom to choose what actually worked. That freedom mattered because Leonella—not a list of approved purchases—had become the expert on her daughter's health.  "Without this payment... we couldn't afford the formula," Albert said. When there was money leftover after purchasing Sophia's formula, the family stretched every dollar to meet other basic needs. Leonella approached every purchase with the same intentionality she had brought to caring for Sophia. "We have learned to be very, very conscious about... the way we spend every cent," she said. Nearly every meal was prepared at home. Groceries were purchased carefully. Leftovers were frozen instead of wasted. Every dollar served a purpose. Their story quietly challenges one of the most harmful myths about families experiencing financial hardship—that someone else knows better how they should spend their money. Albert sees it differently. "I think it's 100% more beneficial to have the freedom... of just buying whatever we need," he said. Because every child is different, every family is different. And parents have the lived experience to understand personal needs that no policy or approved shopping list can fully anticipate. Gael's illness changed more than their finances; it changed what they value. "Living through this experience has really opened our eyes to what's really important," Albert said. "You have your health, you have your children. You have a roof over your head... What more do you need?" Along the way, they found community far and wide. "We met many angels," Albert said. "Former staff of mine, neighbors, organizations, people we met through our journey, strangers… I hope one day I'm strong enough, and I can definitely give back to other parents." Today, hope looks different than it once did. The family of 5 is now 4, and the time spent in lengthy hospital stays is now filled with heartbreak and understandable grief. Still, hope lives in Anna's laughter and in Sophia's smile. It lives in the determination that carries Leonella and Albert through each new day. Albert admits there are no truly "good" days anymore—only "better days than the bad days." Those better days are built on faith, family, and the freedom to make the decisions only parents can make. Sometimes the most powerful investment in a family isn't a list of approved purchases or a set of restrictions. 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